Children of Destiny
by Wydowness
Summary: We'll always be fighting, no matter what happens..." The story of Tony Redgrave and Violette Goldstein
1. Welcome to Strafe

Thank you for taking the time to read my creation and please no spamming or stupid remark/comments. Any problems IM or email I'll be happy to help solve the issue. Italics like always, mean thoughts or dream depending on the situation.

Chapter one - Welcome to Strafe

_The city that never sleeps, keeping it's nightmares at bay, alluding the darkness in a constant battle for sanity and control_

_"Run away, run from this place."- The fire burned brightly as the house came crashing down, scattering debris and dust everywhere. Among the fiery remains stood a lone child no older than eight, blood drenched her body violently shaking. She was gripped roughly by the wrist, and pulled down to the ground as a dying female pulled her close, "Did you hear what I said?! Bury it and forget! Find Eva she'll protect you. Warn them of the danger. They must escape!" The child nodded as the woman released her, dropping unto the ground sideways on the charred, blood stained earth. Meanwhile the child looked back as she ran off, watching as the fire spread, consuming the woman and everyone else who had been killed in the attack_.

Violette Goldstein sat up from her bed as she wiped the light beads of sweat from her brow. Frowning she climbed out of bed dragging herself into the bathroom. She flipped the bathroom switch, shielding her eyes from the bright light. "Vi, you're awake? Don't tell me you've been having nightmares again," the teenager sighed as she filled a glass with water and drank slow, steady gulps. "Stupid dreams," she muttered while looking into her reflection, _I'm getting circles under my eyes again_. She thought as she yawned and rubbed her eyes. Walking into their small living room Violette sat down in a corner of their old burgundy sofa as her mother worked away in a corner, her back to the girl. "So what was it this time?" her mother asked, as she squinted her eyes, trying to adjust her monocle. Violette sighed as she leaned on the old piece of furniture "The usual, fire, dying blonde, and those damn screeches. I thought the psychiatrist said that they were going to stop once I started taking the medication?"

Her mother didn't respond, only the sound of a torch was heard as the older woman welded what she held in her hands, "Mom did you hear me?"

"Yeah I did. Look I wish I could answer every question you throw at me, but I have to finish working on the pistol, a customer is picking it up tomorrow." Violette let out a disappointed sigh, "Of course. I'm going outside. Gonna walk around clear my head. Be back in a bit."Grabbing a black coat she slipped into it, stepping outside, "Don't stay out for too long," her mother called out from behind, Violette simply walked out not replying.

On the other side of town in the district area, a fight broke out inside a bar. "Get the hell out! You troublemakers! Enzo one more and you're banished from my place. You hear me!?" Onlookers watched as a chubby man in a khaki jacket and dark colored pants was thrown out of the bar, behind him several others followed all falling face first into the wet concrete. "Aw, c'mon banished isn't that a little extreme!" Enzo Ferino yelled back at the owner who crossed his arms as he leaned on the doorway. The Italian cursed under his breath as he walked away, straightening his hat. "Dammit, can't believe it I didn't even get a chance to take a piss," he muttered as he walked through the hardly lit streets, wondering where was his newest recruit.

_So, what's your name kid?_

_Tony. Tony Redgrave. I'm looking to get in on the mercenary business. So, you think I got what it takes?_

_Kid, I'm confident in your skills, just trust me, and you're gonna be the biggest thing that ever hit this little town._

Enzo shook his head as he kept walking remembering how he met his newest recruit. "Damn . . . Did I do right by hiring a kid?" the question lingered in his mind when he heard footsteps, loud, pacing footsteps which were quickly heading in his direction. Reaching into his inner coat pocket he readied his gun, waiting for his attacker "Enzo, that you? Geez. I've been looking for you everywhere. You were supposed to meet me an hour ago, what the hell?" Turning around, Enzo's eyes instantly fell on the white hair which seemed to glow, until he realized it was the light reflecting off of the silver locks.

"Shit, you had me scared kid. I thought Bobby's bouncers were on my ass again!"

The boy in red smirked as he walked toward his employer, "Paranoid much?" he mocked at the sweaty man. "What me? No. No! Heh, if Bobby were stupid enough to send his men after me I would shoot them all, made them wish they'd of never come after me!"

Tony Redgrave smirked as they walked out of the alley, "Sure, I'm sure they would be terrified of you. So, when am I going to start?"

Enzo, laughed nervously earning a dry look from the boy. "What?" Tony answered, the fat Italian rubbing his head with a nervous look on his face, as Tony smirk became a glare. "Well the thing is . . . kid you're starting with a partner. The guy is well known around town plus he can introduce you to his gunsmith, she's the best in town. His name is Grue" Tony stormed off in front of Enzo, heading toward the nearby motel he was residing in. "Aw, don't get like that he's a professional! Grue knows what he's doing he could even teach you a thing or two!" Tony stopped briskly turning around "I don't need some old geezer telling how to do my job. What I need is for you to hurry up and get a gig!" Enzo followed behind him and said "Uh, well it's not that easy nobody knows your name yet! You might've been big in the last town, but don't forget this is different Strafe is Mecca for all the aspiring! If don't you play by the rules of this town, then Tony I hate to break it to you but, you're not gonna make it in this business!"

Tony rolled his eyes as he stepped aside, waiting for Enzo to catch to up. "Today fat man, I'm sleepy, I wanna get a little shut eye before I meet the geezer!" Enzo remained silent and obediently followed Tony to his motel room. "So, what's the geezer like? A real prick? A pushover?" they entered the one bed room, Enzo watching his every step and with good reason. The room was littered with pizza boxes and soda cans. "I see you've gotten acquainted with the towns' pizza joint." He pointed out while pushing some boxes off of a wooden chair. Taking a deep breath he almost wished he hadn't: the room reeked of old beer, urine and another unknown smell. "Did someone _die_ here?" he yelled out Tony shrugged as he picked the television remote clicking the small screen on. "How should I know? I'm hardly here to begin with! 'Sides, this was the cheapest motel in the entire town!" Enzo snatched the remote from Tony's hand, trying to find his favorite channel, GIRLZ.

"Does this place have a satellite?" He asked as he went form channel to channel, Tony only watched in amusement as his employer began to look annoyed. "Have you looked at the dump were in?! Why are you asking me if this place has satellite?!" Enzo gave a disappointed sigh as he turned the television off. "So where was I?" he turned his attention to the teen who polishing the large blade that he had been carrying on his back, Enzo couldn't help but stare. " I forgot you carried around that thing!" Tony was quiet while his hand worked over the chrome surface of the blade. "Why do you carry that thing around Tony? What are you trying to prove? " Enzo shook his head as he said " Why not do as the rest of us and carry a gun. It's much more compact and discreet than that oversized knife."

"I can't part with it, I don't know why, but I just can't. What? Haven't you ever had an item that you can't stay away from for some reason unknown to you?" Tony answered as he stood up, leaning the sword on his left shoulder. "So, you're telling me you carry the damn thing because you have some sort of connection to it, is that it?! What kind of person goes around saying crap like that?!" Tony chuckled finding his commissioner's exaggerated tone humorous Enzo gave the boy a blank stare, "You need to get your act straight otherwise, no one in town will take you seriously and you'll never get a job," Tony shook his head "Quit lecturing me, I know what I need to do, it's just that it involves a very big weapon." Enzo suppressed a sigh, knowing that there was no arguing with the teen, he had set his mind on carrying around that sword.

He didn't think there was anything wrong with it, hell he knew at least six other mercenaries who used the sword as a prime weapon, but the thing was they were experienced men, Tony, no matter how gifted he seemed, it just didn't feel to Enzo that the boy was ready for his weapon.

Violette paced around her apartment complex, standing on her floor's balcony watching the people below her as they conducted their nightly lives. She had moved to this city so many years ago and yet she was still surprised by the fact that so many people led nightly lives. _It wont be long, before I'm one of them_ the thought eased her tension, as she hugged herself cursing at the fact that she should of gotten a thicker coat to protect her against the cold night breeze.


	2. Grue

Chapter 2- Grue

_We all need someone even when we think we don't, that person will always end up saving our skin_

Violette hugged herself while staring at the lights below her. "If you're that cold, why don't you come inside? I made some hot cocoa, it might help you fall asleep again," turning around, the girl watched as her mother stepped into the balcony while reaching into the pocket of her own sweater. Pulling a packet of Marlboro Reds, Nell took a cigarette out of the package, while holding in her mouth she lit it. "So, you want to head inside? It's late you need to get rest, tomorrow you're going out of the city, aren't you? Enzo has already reserved your room and driver. He just called me. Go in you have to wake up early to be there around six sharp," Violette fanned the thin smoke cloud away from her face, although she hated admitting it, the smell of menthol actually soothed her. "Fine, I'll try to go back to sleep, I'd hate it if I went to the shoot with bags under my eyes," her mother bit back a laugh, instead shook her head "Why you damn kids are so vain, I'll never understand," her daughter shrugged "I have to be, if it weren't for my looks I wouldn't even have that job." Walking past her mother, she went inside heading for the small apartment. "Lay off of the sleeping pills!" The girl's mother screamed, but as always there was no response.

Tony woke up the next morning to his surprise, with Enzo by his side. "Ugh, wake up you!" rolling to his side, Enzo muttered something in his sleep flatuating loudly. "You pig," Tony walked out the door hoping to get a breath of fresh air. He stared at the immense billboard before him, advertising some sort of fast food restaurant. Shaking his head, he smiled at the sight of dawn, the sky shaded in by many different colors. _Guess all the pretty things happen when no one is around to see them,_ he thought as he walked down the street gazing into the empty, closed shops.

"_So, kid can you tell me why it is that you wanna be a Merc?" The commissioner asked Tony the first time they had an actual conversation, his objective was to see if the silver haired boy would be worth his time._

_Smiling broadly, the teen answered "Because, I've a goal to attain that's why,"_

_Arching an eyebrow, the Italian looked at him with curiosity wondering what someone so young would want to achieve. "Really? And what's the goal?"_

" _To prove to all you bastards who undermine me; I can stand on my own two feet,_

_I don't need any of you to survive. Just you watch I'll leave this hell hole and show you that I'm going to make my own path." _

_Enzo laughed happy to hear the response, at least this way he knew the kid would bust his ass if he worked for him._

He shook his head as the words rang in his head. "I was such a little prick back then," kicking an empty can down the block he continued on his way. It had been two years since he had actually joined the mercenary world and yet no one had heard of him. There were others who had started after he did, Aaron, Joseph, those bastards they had all started shortly after he had and yet they now were well known in the ranks. "Heh, maybe some idiots have more luck than I do," he stopped in front of a window of a home, watching as a child played with his stuffed animal. The child laughed happily but an older boy neared him. Snatching his toy away from him. The younger boy cried trying to regain his plaything while the older boy simply laughed keeping the toy out of the child's reach. "Oddly familiar, but a little too early for kids to be up and playing" he muttered as he kept walking bored and lost in his thoughts. "Don't you know what they say? If you go through deja vu then it means you've lived it once before," he turned around behind him stood an old woman in her fifties, carrying a brown paper bag of groceries. "Do you go around eavesdropping on every conversation you hear?" Tony asked as he neared her taking the bag away from her. Shaking her head the old woman swept a chestnut colored lock away from her face "No. Only when I hear stupid remarks," he chuckled, "You look like one of those kind old ladies. I guess I'm wrong."

Nodding she walked next to him they kept a steady pace "I look like a lot of things, never judge a person by their appearance boy," he shrugged, she shoved her hands inside her jacket. "It's six a.m. what a boy like you doing out here in the street? Isn't your mother worried about you? Why aren't you home?"

Tony didn't answer her question instead he looked straight forward, a dull look on his face, "I'm speaking to you kid," she smacked him in the back of his head causing him to turn in her direction. "Ow! What? What? Why'd you hit me?"

"Answer when spoken to, don't be rude, what the hell is your name anyway?" Nell barked in an annoyed tone, leaving Tony with a mouth full of obscenities.

He rubbed the back of his head "Tony , my name is Tony and I didn't hear you, damn old bat." They stood in front of a ten-story apartment complex painted beige and green "Follow me inside I'll give you something for you troubles," Tony said nothing as he went inside with her, past a Hispanic looking receptionist. "Nell, how good to see you! Is Violette off again?" The old woman smiled "Yes Nicole she is, she left this morning wont be back 'till tomorrow afternoon I think." The brown skinned receptionist smiled, showing off her white teeth, "Oh, and how is this handsome man? Violette's boyfriend? You know she always gets the cute guys," she sighed dramatically Nell walked past her pushing the elevator button waiting for it to come down. "You have a daughter?" Tony asked, staring at his reflection in the polished chrome doors, "Yeah she's sixteen years old, works as a part time model."

The elevator doors parted as a light bell chimed, "Let's go in," stepping inside, they were silent as Nell pushed the button marked three. "Heh, at least she keeps a roof over your head right?" Nell shook her head, "Wrong boy, I do work for a living, I'm a gunsmith." Tony stared at her with a blank expression "You? Aren't you a little old to be in the business?" Nell stepped out of the elevator, the teen following right behind her, they stopped before apartment 3d. "Welcome," opening the door for him they both walked inside. "To Nell's shop, specializing in repairing and making customized pistols." Tony examined his surroundings staring at the desk in the corner, the old crimson couch and the small wooden coffee table. The walls were lined with all sorts of guns and assault rifles, most bolted to the wall. The living room was dark with the exception of a small lamp on the desk which cast long shadows. The room was windowless, or at least it seemed that way, if there were any windows they behind the immense bookshelves that lined some of the corners. Above her mahogany desk there was a large gold plate that read .45 Caliber Warks

"Home, sweet home huh?" Tony said aloud as they walked into her small kitchen, even smaller than the living room, where she put away the refrigerated goods. "I take it you haven't eaten breakfast yet," Nell pointed out while pulling out a frying pan.

"What, you're going to cook me breakfast or something?" Nell's chestnut colored hair bounced as she nodded "Course I am, it's the least I can do to thank you, " he lowered his head. "What? What's wrong?" looking into her eyes his blue eyes sparkled "How about little money instead?" what he received was a punch to the head. "Ow, damn old bat!" she scoffed while muttering to herself, Tony simply went into the living room/ office and plopped down on the old couch.

The phone rang, a moment later, Nell cried out "Answer that will you! I'm kinda busy right now!" growling Tony walked over to the wooden desk "Yeah? What do you want?" a female voice replied. "Huh? Mom? Put my mother on the line!" Tony pulled the phone away from his ear sounds of shouting could be heard in the background. "Nell it's for you!" Nell cursed under her breath but came out of the kitchen, snatching up the phone from Tony's grip. "Yeah?" her face was a grim expression but as soon as she heard the voice on the other side, her expression lightened "Vi, I didn't think I'd be hearing from you today! How's it going?" Tony shifted his attention to the Playstation 2 sitting in front of the television. Creeping over to it, he examined the library of games that were piled before it. "Hmm, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Fatal Frame . . . damn this chick is a supernatural freak," he muttered as he read the back of Resident Evil 4. "Heh, doesn't sound too bad, wonder why the hell they were complaining about this game on T.V. "

Nell hung up the phone and turned to Tony, "Sorry kid, but it looks like I owe you a breakfast." He turned to her confused, "What?" she dusted her hands and pointed to the door, "You gotta go kid, here," she reached into her pockets and fished put a fifty-dollar bill. "Here. For your trouble, now scat, get going" he snatched the bill and headed for the door "You know, nobody uses the word 'scat' anymore. But then again you are a crone," she stared at him, not sure wether to scold or ignore him. "Get the hell out!" she finally screamed after a moment of silence.

He chuckled, picking up his sword which he had placed on the edge of the old sofa, hoping to get at least something to eat and then exited while calling out, "Nice meeting you too!"

Outside he hurried back to his motel, wondering if Enzo had awakened yet.

"Where have you been?! I ordered food for us already and since you didn't show up I ate it all!" Tony shook his head "You fat bastard," Enzo tried to argue but said nothing and instead turned on the television. "So, um, what time am I meeting my partner?" Tony asked after sitting in silence for another thirty minutes.

"What? Oh, Grue, well let's see it's twelve, he should be up by now. Grab your things let's go."

As soon as Tony had grabbed his belongings they checked out of the motel and called a cab. "Is it that long of a walk?" Tony asked, Enzo ignoring his question. "Hey fat man, I'm talking to ya," reaching into his pocket the Italian fished out a black cell phone and pressed the number seven, waiting for someone to pick up.

"Hello?" a young female voice answered Tony turned in his boss's direction curious to know whom he was speaking to. "Hey there Jess is Grue home?" Moments later he was speaking to Grue. "Yeah?" a rough voice answered on the other side, Enzo finally noticing that Tony was listening. "Pay attention to the streets. We'll miss the cab!" Resuming his phone conversation, he spoke to the other person as if they were old friends telling jokes. "Damn Enzo," Tony thought while keeping an eye out in the street. Ten minutes later they were riding their taxi across town down to Raven Drive. They pulled up in front of a two-story house, painted white, with a red roof and two large glass panes in the front. A balcony was in the middle if the second floor, while in the first floor there were a porch and a swing. Tony could tell that whoever this Grue guy was, he had kids, young kids, if he was lucky maybe a nice teenage daughter.

Approaching the door Enzo rung the doorbell twice before it was opened by a girl carrying an infant, behind her was a child of maybe five or four years of age. "Yes?" she asked them politely, Enzo clearing his throat as he said "Hey there Jess, your father home?" the teenage girl nodded as she moved out of the doorway allowing them to enter. "Wait in the den, and I'll get him right now." Both men waited in the small hallway Tony watching the girl as she entered a room at the end of the hallway, the toddler right behind her, her eyes on Tony. "Don't you dare mess this up Tony" Enzo warned as he straightened the collar of his jacket "You're the one who seems nervous, not me." Tony muttered while staring at the family pictures which lined the walls around them. "I'm nervous because if this guy doesn't accept you, then I hate to say it but you're done my friend. If Grue wont take you in, then no one else will." Tony scoffed, leaning against the wall, "What? His opinion in this town is that important or somethin'? My career isn't gonna die 'cause of a mistrusting bastard." His employer remained quiet, not answering to the boy's remark.

"What? Cat got your tongue?" Said Tony, but he was ignored.

They turned their attention to the doorway Jessica had entered when they saw a large man exiting the room walking toward them. "Morning, what I can I do for you today Enzo?" The man that stood in front of them was almost six feet tall, sturdily built, with short brown hair and matching eyes. He wore a green T-shirt and black cargo shorts. From the looks of it, it seemed that he had just been awakened. "Morning Grue," the Italian man replied holding his hand out they shook hands "I brought you your newest partner. Please don't kill this one," he nodded in Tony's direction, Grue shooting the boy a dull gaze.

"Another greenhorn? I thought we agreed, no more baby-sitting in exchange for 40-60 pay." The dissatisfaction obvious in the mercenary's voice, Tony crossed his arms over his chest, "I'm not a greenhorn, I've been working as a Merc for two years now, I've got my work cut out for me." Grue only stared, the disappointed look not fading. "That true? Well, kid if you've been in this business for so long then why is Enzo still trying to find you a partner? Anyone who's been in this for that long should have a partner by now? What's your excuse?" Tony shrugged "What's _your_ excuse?" The mercenary rolled his eyes "Looks like we have a smartass in our hands Enzo," Grue mentioned for them to follow him into his small office at the end of the hallway obediently, they followed and entered the small room Grue closing the door behind them. "So tell me kid what are you experienced in? What are your abilities?" Tony smirked pulling out the enormous sword that was strapped to his back, "This is my ace in the hole. Baby goes anywhere I go. Anyone in Sepulveda can tell you about my abilities, Tony Redgrave, best of the best! Ain't no one better than me Grue!"

Grue shook his head as he walked past them, sitting down in front of them while turning on his laptop. "Redgrave was it? Well, we'll find out just how good you really are." The room became silent, and the only noise was that of Grue typing away at the keypad. Minutes later he muttered a 'Hmm,' as he surfed the internet.

"Found it." He said finally turning the screen so that the other two could also see. It was a web page with the headline_ "Bringing you the latest and greatest in the Mercenary world." _Grue scratched his beared "You're from Sepulveda City, right? Who was your agent? Did you work full time or freelance? Never mind I'll just type your name on the search bar." Tony and Enzo watched as TONY REDGRAVE was typed into the blank slot and in the blink of an eye, 350 results were found. "Let's see," Grue muttered quietly while reading the headlines.

" Newcomer destroys more than one million in property damages"

"Redgrave responsible for death of three people, local police carrying investigation"

"Redgrave involved in high profile murder. Police still investigating"

The headlines kept appearing, most of them tarnishing the boy's reputation even more then it already was. Grue gave a quick glance in the boys direction "I'm surprised you haven't been locked away yet. How the hell does one boy do so much damage by himself? Who the hell commissioned your training? Were they blind or something?!" Tony shrugged "I trained myself I don't need anyone telling me how to kill someone. Besides it's worked out just fine for the last two years, and any way everyone knows the reporters always corrupt stories just to get the readers attention." Enzo was only listening wondering how Tony was going to get out of this mess, but judging by the tone both mercenaries were speaking in it was better he just kept quiet. "To become a mercenary you have to go through training. You know someone has to take you in and teach you the basic. First aid, weapon selection, overall self defense. Didn't anyone tell you this? How the hell did you get started anyway?"

Tony shrugged "I was hanging out in this place that looked like a run down crack house and some guy walked in saying he needed someone taken care of for two hundred. I jumped at the job seeing it as easy money and two years later, here I am."

He held his hands in the air while raising his shoulders at the older man "So, we're going to be partners or what?" Grue took one look at Enzo who mouthed the word 'Yes' to him. Sighing heavily he answered "I don't think I have a choice, looks like we're partner's kid."

(A/N- I tried to change and better my story as was pointed out in a review, thank you for pointing that out and if there's anytihng I missed please, let me know!)


	3. Mercenary

Three- Mercenary

_It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it_

Violette got off the taxi, handing the driver a hundred-dollar bill, "Can you please help with the luggage in the trunk? There's another hundred in it for you." The driver quickly got out of the taxi and opened the trunk "Which floor you going to?" The girl pointed with a leather-covered hand to the third floor "There. Third floor, apartment D," nodding the man lifted the suitcases and entered the building, holding the door for the teen as she also entered removing her sunglasses a pair of green eyes sparkling as she looked around. "Good to be home again."

A voice from behind quickly answered "You've only been away for three days," turning around Violette was met by a girl the same age as she only instead of dark hair and emerald eyes like herself, the girl before her was blonde and brown eyes. "Nice to see you too, Kerry" Violette said while bearing a fake smile.

Kerry, shivered quick flash of fear escaped from her eyes "I hate those cat eye contacts you wear. Be normal for once and take them off will you? You're not at a photo shoot!" She walked past the dark-haired teen and into the open elevator which the cab driver had been holding for Violette. "Uh, ma'am." He called out, she quickly walked into it as well, pressing the number three while the blonde pressed the number four. Moments later, the doors swung open on the third level, "Nice chatting with you Kerry," Violette called out while walking out of the elevator, the taxi driver following right behind her. She ignored the other girl who closed the elevator while muttering "Bitch."

Taking a few steps, they were soon in front of apartment 'D'. Knocking on the door Violette waited for a moment before Nell finally opened the door for her. "Nice to see you're back " she said sweetly while taking the luggage from the taxi driver. "Here." Violette said to him while handing him another hundred-dollar bill. He tipped his hat to her as he closed the door behind him. "So, what's new around here? Anything I miss in particular?" the girl asked as she walked into their small kitchen opening the fridge, rummaging trying to find something to eat. Nell shook her head, "Nothing out of the ordinary, but I did hear that Grue has an official partner."

Violette gave her mother a look of disbelief. "I highly doubt that, the man is picky about whom he teams up with." Nell gently laughed while opening her daughters' suitcases, not sure why she was laughing when she knew her daughter would loose her cool any moment. "No, I'm serious. His new partner is one of Enzo's newest men. Enzo mentioned something about the new guy being around your age," Violette scoffed as she walked back into the small living room to her mother's small work station.

"I doubt the bastard whoever he is isn't as good as I am, Grue himself said I was the town's prodigy." Nell's smile faded a more serious expression swept across her face as she said "I thought we agreed you're not entering that world," the teenager pulled out her mother's toolkit examining the portable torch she kept under the desk. "No, you said you didn't want anything to do with mercenaries anymore, that's why you retired. I do. I want to be a mercenary. I have potential, everyone says so. Besides Bobby already offered to find me a commissioner and a partner."

Nell snatched the torch from the teen "Enzo wants to be your commissioner," Violette shook her head "Only morons work with him! No offense to Grue he's the best we've got, but everyone knows that Enzo robs his clients and employees. I'm surprised no has killed the little thief!" Violette tied her hair in a loose ponytail, helping her mother who had pulled out several guns that need to be polished or worked on. "Pass me the 35. Handgun" Violette said to her mother as she pulled out her own toolkit. "You're gifted in gun smithing, why not take over my business? The town knows you, they all know you're good. If you take over, you might get more customers than I do, especially since you're known both in and out of town," Nell hoped that, that would get the girl's attention but it didn't work. "Sorry mom it's decided I'm becoming a Merc wether you like it or not."

Nell exhaled loudly "Fine, but you're going under training and I want Enzo to be you're commissioner." Violette felt as if she had just been slapped. "No! Since when do you get to decide who's going to be my commissioner! Not even I have decided yet! You sure as hell don't get that honor!" Nell returned the shout "Of course I get to decide! You want in on this world don't forget I have most of the connections and if I wanted to, I could make sure no one ever hired you!"

Standing up, Violette slammed the gun on the wooden desk and went into her room slamming the door behind her. Nell sighed as she rubbed her temples sighing, "Well, least this time we fought after she walked through the door, not before." She then resumed her work not even sparing a second glance at the angry teen's door. "Damn teenage hormones, it's worse than PMS, maybe they get it too."

Not so far away, Enzo, Grue and Tony gathered in a local hang out for all who were dedicated to the business of organized and underground crime. Mercenaries, thieves, smugglers , anyone dedicated to the underground crime world gathered in the small watering hole. Not that there was anything special about it, this place was never going to win any awards. Dedicated to cheap beer, hard liquor and a cheap and simple menu, Bobby's Cellar was gathering place for both those who sought to hire and those who wanted to be hired. Everyone knew the way business was dealt with at the bar. Every day a different commissioner would hand out, or rather auction off jobs to the man who was willing to pay him the highest percentage for giving him the job. The way most people saw it, being a middleman was the sneakiest job of them all. Sending men to their death while making a quick profit from them.

With its small sign hanging in front of the bar's door 'Go home, take a dump and sleep it off ' one could see that Bobby's wasn't for the faint of heart. What most didn't understand was that the message was not a greeting but a farewell note to anyone who had endured an evening in his establishment.

Bobby himself wasn't an over muscular beast of a man that could rip you in half, he was a short, pudgy, pot bellied man. Almost bald, he had a few gray hairs, his face littered with wrinkles, depicting a face much older than his actual age, Bobby was always polishing his old wooden counter , making sure no one ever disrespected his business. Although he didn't seem threatening in any way, most men knew that only a fool picked a fight with him. The last man that did mysteriously vanished.

Entering the bar, they made their way to Grue and Enzo's usual place right by the counter. As soon as Bobby spotted Enzo he glared at him but said nothing. "Did you anger him again?" Grue asked while grabbing one of the menus placed before them.

Enzo didn't respond, making his answer even more obvious to the veteran mercenary.

The three men sat near the front by the counter, where they kept an eye near the bulletin board where anyone seeking to employ Enzo's men would leave a note. Grue drank his beer in lazy gulps while the Italian guzzled his down, mug after mug, assuring the others he could hold his alcohol. Tony on the other hand wasn't even drinking anything. He had Bobby make him a special order, a strawberry sundae. Before him sat a crystal bowl with four large scoops of vanilla ice cream, red syrup and sliced strawberries on top of the whole thing. Tony would have opted for sprinkles too, but he didn't want to look too ridiculous. "Why the hell are you eating that crap? Isn't that a little kid's desert? What's the matter, parents didn't buy you a happy meal when you were a kid or something?" Grue taunted Tony while he gulped down the frozen treat. "Shut up," he said while his mouth was full of the pinkish mixture, "I like this, strawberry sundaes are awesome."

Grue shook his head, "Hate to break it to you, but no one uses the word 'awesome' anymore either." Enzo chuckled while watching the two partners argue about the frozen treat, one defending it passionately while the other condemned it. "Good to see you ladies getting along so well," Enzo said to them both as he stood up walking over to the bulleting board. Grue gave him an angry glare but dismissed it after seeing Tony's ice cream covered face "You look like a god damn clown, if you're going to eat that crap, at least eat like a normal person don't be a pig!" Tony didn't respond, but did wipe his face with the back of his hand smearing his trench coat. "Disgusting," Grue muttered earning a grin from Tony.

"Ladies! Pack you're things you have you're first official mission as a team!" Enzo cried out moving through the crowded room toward his employees, Tony looked up from his empty bowl "Are you serious? Our first gig?" turning to Grue he said "Someone actually trusts us," the older man nodded "Guess someone out there still loves us," Tony threw a rolled up napkin and tossed at the veteran, the napkin bouncing off of his head "Don't start with the religious act! Please!" Grue shrugged, stood up and patted his right vest pocket "Don't need God, got all I need right here," Tony looked puzzled "A liquor flask?" Grue shook his head scoffing at the boy, "Fuck you Tony." Enzo then clapped his hands at them "Ladies any day now!" Also standing, Tony pushed the bowl away from him "Thanks Bobby!" the old man muttered something in reply but Tony paid no heed to him, "So, what's our first job?"

Enzo held a small piece of paper in his hands "Hold up I have to call our client and get the details, I' m not sending my best man without knowing what he's going to do."

Three days later, the mercenaries were driving out of town toward the bay area.

"I hate it when we get hired by the mafia. Can't they handle their own damn business?"

Grue rolled his eyes looking up at the star lit sky above them, "Well if you think about it kid, they are our best paying customers," Tony arched an eyebrow "Don't you mean the most reckless? They never give you all the needed info. They just tell you what's convenient to them and then when you do the job, bam! You get backstabbed by the bastards, and thrown in a ditch somewhere." The older Merc shook his head, rummaging through his pockets with one hand while the other was kept on the steering wheel. "You watch too much t.v. anyone who's been doing this for a long enough period can tell you that it doesn't happen that way, gee no wonder no one likes hiring you. You stereotype your clients too much, that's bad for business."

Grue clenched his teeth, biting down the butt of the cigarette as he fumbled with his lighter, "Where the hell did you hear something as stupid s that anyway?" Tony shrugged glad the darkness was concealing him, he didn't want Grue to see his cheeks turning red in embarrassment.

"Doesn't matter, so what's the objective?" Turning the car's roof light, Tony opened the compartment before him and pulled out the document's Enzo had given to Grue moments before racing into the black asphalt road. "What else? We go in, kill some schmo because he owes the local guy too much and can't pay him back." Grue tossed his cigarette, or what was left of it out the window. "Guy's name is Michael Donovan, 36, local drug dealer resides in the bay. Guy lives in a boat where he also runs a second shop if you catch my drift. Anyway, his boss no longer needs the guy but when he was going to be let go, he threatened the boss. We need to get him tonight. There's a rumor that he's planning on running away to foreign waters in that boat of his. He might have back up, the guy was pretty well known in the upper Strafe area, you know where all the factories are? Odds are we're not alone we might have a few extra dance partners with us so we need to get rid of them as quickly as possible."

The rest of the forty minute drive was silent until finally, the bay and the nearby docks came into view. There, Tony spotted the target's boat anchored and as Grue had predicted there were at least ten men walking around the deck all sporting some sort of heavy artillery. "Guess you were right. The guys in the deck are mine, you look for Donovan, got it?" Grue didn't argue, if the kid felt like dying or getting shot he wasn't one to argue, more money for him. "Do what you want. If you get killed, you're not my problem." Jumping out of the car before the engine was shut off, Tony was already reaching for the massive sword. "I don't intent on dying."

Flashing a smug grin, he vanished into the surrounding darkness.

_Fucking kid's out of his God damn mind_, Grue thought while retrieving his own weapon of choice, but to his dismay, it wasn't in it's case. In its stead was a Winchester rifle. "The hell?!" Under the rifle was a small note which read _"You owe me $789.43 for repairing the Python._ _Until then, enjoy using this standard piece of modern crap - Nell._"

Grue cursed under his breath realizing the woman was serious when she had threatened him a week earlier by saying she wouldn't return him his gun until she was paid even if it interfered with his work, Nell wasn't a sentimental type. She would hold the gun until payment was handed over or she would sell it for a quick profit which ever came first.

He was snapped out of the stupor when he heard gunshot, remembering Tony had gone off on his own, Grue grabbed the rifle and ran toward the dock to help the boy, but what he saw next left him stupefied.

Tony ran across the deck with confidence swinging his blade, striking down two men before either man had a chance to realize what was happening. Next he turned a corner where a man fired at him, emptying a magazine on the boy who dodged each and every bullet with precision. The thug struggled to reload before he too met the sharp end of the blade. "Heh." Was all that escaped the teen's lips as he dodged and countered every bullet that came his way, successfully blocking them all with the sword and even returning some of the rounds with sheer force.

"What the . . . he killed everyone " Grue whispered as Tony dispatched the men on the deck, one after another meeting his end.

"Too easy!"

Tony had moved with speed, grace and agility combined, something the veteran mercenary hadn't seen, not in greenhorns like Tony anyway. Such skill and accuracy were seen only in people with as much experience as Grue, and even then it was a rarity.

"Goons are dead! You ready?" Tony cried out waving his arms at the darkness in which Grue was hidden in. Reaching into his vest pocket, the man was glad he always carried an extra gun and magazine clips with him, just incase things went awry. Running up to the boat he boarded it, running past the men, he heard slight groans of pain. _They are not dead.... just unconscious _

Running downstairs, he could hear where his target was lurking. Downstairs where he came across a party, a middle age man sitting in the middle of the room surrounded by many, laughing and drinking merrily.

Grue wondered how it was that no one had heard the commotion upstairs. But then again if hadn't been there to see it, he probably would have been oblivious to the carnage just a floor above him as well. Judging by the mood of the gathering, there was no doubt in Grue's mind that the man in the middle of the group was the target Donovan celebrating, most likely thinking he had gotten away with his life and a hefty debt. The mercenary shook his head, cocked the weapon in his hands, positioning himself for a clean shot. "Nothing personal, just business," he muttered as the gun went off hitting the man right between the eyes. The target never even had a chance to squeal, one moment there was laughter coming from Donovan, the next pieces of his skull and brain had been blasted off and splattered on his guests who still high on their drugs, too doped to notice they were carrying around a dead body.

He remained there only for an instant inspecting the damage he had done. Once he confirmed the man was dead he decided it was better to leave. Quickly heading upstairs Grue heard the panicked cries of the crowd as they realized their host was dead.

Tony waited for him upstairs, staring at the stars that filled sky with a serene look on his face, completely different to the mad man stare he had while dispatching Donovan's goons. "Let's go, before we're seen" Grue murmured walking past the teen who snapped out of dazed state. "Okay," he answered quickly arms behind the back of his head, hanging mid air. "This was a quick job wasn't it? A little too easy," Tony said to Grue as they drove away from the docks heading back int the direction of the city.

They arrived early in the morning the sun's rays parting through the sky mixing in with the darkness of the retreating night. Grue dropped off Tony in a nearby hotel agreeing that they would meet up around noon at his home, to receive their pay from Enzo. As Grue drove off, Tony walked down the streets, broke he couldn't pay a room even if he did want one and Bobby's was closed. It didn't open until ten a.m. and it was just a little before six. Exhaling heavily the boy decided he might as well just walk around to kill some time.

He sat on the marble steps of a nearby cathedral, staring up at the stone statues that decorated the entrance of the immense building. He noticed that although the place was meant to provide religious relief, it was decorated in a Euro-Goth style with gargoyles creeping over the roof of the entrance, demons and angels perched up there as well some even wielding swords. For a place of religious comfort it had an odd way of showing it. "Well, if it isn't the smart ass who likes to talk to himself"

Tony cocked his head sideways, Nell stood a few feet away carrying plastic bags. "What is it with you and shopping this early in the morning? Early bird special that good?" The sun gleamed behind her, making him shield his eyes against the penetrating rays. Shrugging she walked toward him, the bags rustling with each step she took. "No, but if I don't do it now, I wont have time later today, I'm too busy. What about you? You fond of patrolling the streets this early or something?"

Returning the shrug, he stood up, dusting the back of his pants. "I dunno I was bored so I thought taking a walk would clear my head," Nell laughed mockingly "You be must be in a hell of a lot of trouble if you wanted to do that right now!" Tony inhaled, breathing in the crisp morning air. "Nah, to be honest I just felt like wandering out here."

They began to walk down the street, the shops around them coming to life, the citizens of the town coming to life with the rising sun. "If you ever need a place to stay, wether you got kicked out of wherever it is you're staying at or you just want to get away come to my shop, I wont mind the extra company" he gave her an odd look "I appreciate it, but I make it a point to only date women within my age group no offense, Nell." giving him the look of a harridan, Nell gritted her teeth in annoyance.

"Forget it, you want to freeze out here go ahead."

She walked ahead of him, quickening her pace. "Aw, c'mon Nell where's your sense of humor I was kidding!" he followed her to her complex and called out "You know you're not really mad at me," he shook his head light as she stepped into the elevator avoiding his gaze. Tony wasn't one who typically followed women around whenever they threw a hissy fit, but it didn't hurt to have Nell as a friend. Especially since he found out that she was the town's best gun smith and her daughter a following prodigy. Friends like those wouldn't hurt to have, especially for him since he had the bad habit of overheating guns and causing them to jam or simply render them useless.

Walking away from the complex he turned a corner and walked past a diner realizing that he was hungry. _Crap. Bad time for you to wake up stomach._ He ignored the loud cries and walked past the business heading straight for a small park where he spent the first night in town. Settling on a bench, he hoped there wasn't any cop on duty, other wise he wouldn't get much sleep before he was forced to move on.

A few hours later, he sat in Grue's kitchen eating away as Jessica, Grue's oldest daughter cooked breakfast for Enzo, her father and the famished Tony. The other two watched in awe as the boy gulped down his food and the glass of juice she had served him. "Kid doesn't get much to eat does he?" Grue asked Enzo who had no idea what to respond. Grue shook his head as he slowly ate his own food but eventually gave up. "Forget it I can't eat with him here he's a damn pig. Learn some table manners Tony!" pushing his plate away from his face Tony looked up at him while grinning innocently. "Do you have any strawberry ice cream around here?"

Ignoring Tony, Grue turned his attention to Enzo "So how much is each of us making? Are we still with the 40-60% share plan or has that changed?" Enzo shook his head, "Actually, since its now three of us, the money will be split as follows: Tony will make 30%, you will make 40% and I will keep the remaining 30% for expenses." Tony raised an eyebrow "Expenses? What expenses? You're not giving me a place to crash in, you don't feed me or cloth me, you don't do shit for Grue either! You just get us jobs." Snapping his fingers Enzo nodded "Exactly! It costs money to get hired Tony. You know that! I gotta pay off whatever poor soul ends up injured because he was an innocent bystander, trust me it's happened before and they are the most expensive part of being a mercenary. If not kept quiet, they are the ones who can ruin one's reputation!" Tony grumbled under his breath, but he knew Enzo was right, yet he couldn't help but feel that he was being ripped off. "Why does Grue make more than me?" The older mercenary answered the question without skipping a beat "Because I' m the more experienced of the two, that's why."

Enzo kept quiet listening to them argue when his cell phone rang. Tony watched as the commissioner answered but noticed that whoever was on the other line made the small man nervous. "Is his wife calling him?" Tony asked Grue who had resumed eating, despite his argument. "Don't know kid, I can't recall him ever having a wife or girlfriend to begin with." A moment later after hanging up the phone, Enzo said "Tony grab your things your paying a visit to our gun smith," Enzo crammed his chubby hand inside his coat pocket and pulled out a wad of bills, "Give this to her, she'll give you in return a Magnum revolver, got it?" Snatching the money, Tony shoved it inside his trench coat, "Hey when am I getting a gun? "

Sitting down again, Enzo shrugged "Whenever you can afford one, its up to you, now get going she's waiting for you. The address is 1013 West Adams. It's a green and beige apartment complex. Inside there's receptionist tell her you're looking for the Goldstein Shop, okay?" The teen stopped at the doorway quickly spinning around "Goldstein, you mean Nell don't you?" Enzo nodded "You know her?" All that was replied was "Tche" and Tony was gone. Grue shook his head, "She mentioned him a few days ago. She met while on her way home, while Violette was away. I didn't think she meant _this_ Tony." The Italian sighed heavily.

"Then I really hope he doesn't screw things up, is he gets her mad, we're fucked. We'll loose the only decent gun smith we've ever had."

A/N- And another chapter is finished. I'm re-doing most of them checking for grammar and spelling so please be patient. Thank you for reading and don't forget to review!!! Oh for anyone curious for pics of Vi message me and you'll get meh Myspace link.


	4. Noob

Four - Noob

_Don't ever show emotion; it's a code we all live by, but its hard to oblige at times_

Tony stood before the apartment complex staring inside, ignoring the people who walked inside but before they did, they would stop to take a look at him. "Poor boy," one woman whispered to her husband as they entered "Must be one of the homeless."

Tony inspected his outfit on the reflection of a glass pane "What the hell, do I look that bad?"

Walking inside he went past the receptionist's desk while she chatted away on the phone, eyeing Tony her face lit up "Oh hi! Back for a visit! Miss Goldstein is upstairs, do you know where to go?" He turned away from her heading straight for the elevator, "Yeah, I know where to go," he stood in front of the over-polished chrome doors for only a moment as the doors slid open while a small chime signaled he could enter. Pressing the number three, he exited the steel box a moment later as he arrived at the determined floor heading straight for Nell's apartment he knocked once before noticing the 'Enter' sign right in front of his face.

Going right in, he was about to call for the Nell when he noticed a teenage girl sitting across the small living room in the corner where Nell's work desk was kept polishing a pistol. He stood for a moment just watching as she polished the gun with a piece of silk cloth. The girl was wearing short shorts and a black tank top, one of her legs perched up on the chair she was sitting on while the other rested on the ground, her dark hair fell around her face as she focused on the gun in her hand her face in a frown "Hey babe! Is the old bat home?" he called out as he entered casually slamming the door behind him.

Violette looked up squinting her eyes at him, "Excuse me?" Just a moment ago, she was peacefully greasing and cleaning her mother's pistols and now some random idiot had interrupted her 'meditation' and insulted her mother all together. "Who are you looking for?" she asked setting the the gun on the desk. "The old crone, Nell Goldstein, she here? If she is, can you tell her to hurry up, Enzo is waiting for the gun she's holding hostage."

Standing up, Violette walked up to the silver haired stranger "What the hell gives you the right to barge in here? Who the hell are you?"

As if asked his life's mission Tony gaveher a wide grin dangerous enough to split his face in half. "Tony Redgrave is the name the newest and probably the best thing to ever hit this barren little town! I just started working for Enzo Ferino, do you know the guy?" The girl raised and eyebrow, her green eyes seething with hate for an instant. "You're Grue's newest partner? Fucking Enzo lied to me," walking back to the desk she picked up the gun and began to polish it again. It took Tony a moment to realize that her eyes were on him.

Placing a hand on his waist, Tony's grin became a smug smile. "Checking me out? Sorry babe, but I don't have time for dates right now, but if you ask nicely I might be able to make some time for you." Violette rolled her eyes at him and extended her hand "The money, you owe us $ 800.00 exactly" the smile never left his face as he placed the wad of cash in her palm "Business woman I like it. I've always liked it better when a girl goes straight for the point."

"Do you ever shut up?"

"No. Only if my mouth is busy doing other things,"

"Pervert."

Tony scoffed pretending to be offended as his head arched back, looking at the yellowish ceiling. "What I was talking about was eating , I don't know what your sick , twisted little mind came up with. But I like it. Means you can be- " He was silenced by the sound of a gun cocked , luckily it wasn't aimed at him she was simply inspecting it.

"Stuck up little brat," he mouthed while she gave him her back "If you're going to insult someone make sure they can't see you stupid," she pointed to a mirror in front of her where she was staring at his glare. He turned his head sideways, pretending he hadn't heard her "So you got my gun?"

He was handed a silver long barrel revolver, no doubt Grue's since it had the word Python etched in the side. "Not your gun, Grue's . Care to tell me how the hell you became his partner? I've been training for a long time and he knows it . Why did he pick a greenhorn like you?" Tony laughed in a mocking tone, Violette simply kept her eyes on him "Greenhorn? Why the hell do you people call me 'greenhorn' what is that a term for all outsiders?" Sitting down on the dusty sofa , Violette crossed her arms over her chest tryingto hide the pout she always gave when angry .

"That's what we call someone when we don't like you. It means we don't want you here." Her voice was low and calm as her eyes danced with his both examining one another neither sure what to make of it.

Plopping down next to her, he watched for a moment examining her facial features. _Heh, you're not too bad looking, if you loose that damn attitude of yours._ He grinned as he tried to get her to look in his direction "Don't want me here? I was brought to this to this town by invitation! You got a problem take it up Enzo, but until then I'll be seeing you around beautiful!" She turned her head sideways ignoring him her eyes closed all she heard was the thump of his boots as he began walking.

In a manner of seconds he was out the door and in the elevator, ready to head out to the streets.

"Asshole, you don't deserve to work with Grue," she shifted her attention to the doorway of her mother's bedroom where Nell stood with a groggy expression; she had just woken up from her nap. "Was someone here? I thought I heard you talking to someone?" Violette nodded "Grue sent us payment for Python, and I met his partner. Why didn't Enzo tell me he hired a noob? The guy has 'Loser' written all over his stupid forehead! Ugh, I can't believethe nerve of that bastard," Nell approached her daughter while ruffling her chestnut colored locks, "Is something wrong? What did his partner do?"

Violette instantly remembered the way the silvered teen barged into the shop demanding to speak with the 'old bat' of the shop. "Nothing I just don't like him, who the hell does he think he is anyway? And who does he think he's fooling with that stupid silver hair of his anyway? We all know it's a fake, probably bleached his hair too much." The girl continued her rambling , Nell no longer paying her heed.

"Did you say silver hair?" She finally said after what seemed like forever. Nodding her daughter answered "Yeah, the guy was wearing a red trench coat and had silver hair, not to mention some over-sized sword that was strapped to his back." Nell sighed wishing she hadn't heard the last part of the girl's rant. "You mean Tony," Violette turned to her with a confused yet angry look "You know that clown?" Nell shrugged " I met him a few days ago, how the hell was I suppose to know he was the guy Enzo had brought in from Sepulveda?"

Tony knocked Grue's door twice before banging on the solid wood "I know you're in there, besides you need the gun , you can't leave me out here forever!" Grue swung the door open a grim look on him "You really are a nuisance, aren't you? Hurry up and get in Enzo took off he had to take care off some business with his sister in-law." Tony entered walking into the kitchen "Sister In-law? I thought you said the guy didn't even have a girlfriend, how did it get to sister in-law so fast?" Grue shrugged quietly following Tony's movements as he eyed the fridge "Go ahead just don't leave my kids without any supper or I'll take it from your pay," the teen helped himself to leftover chicken in a plastic container going to the microwave he heated the food ,but while he waited he said to Grue, "So, where's the missus?"

The veteran shot him dirty look "Didn't your mother teach you not to pry into private matters? Gee, you really are an ill-mannered punk." Tony, not offended by the comment replied "Had a foster mom, but that's about it. And no, she didn't really teach me crap, her or her dead beat husband," the microwave bell ringed signaling the food was ready to eat. Greedily scooping the plastic tray in his hands he flinched when he felt the hot plate against his bare palms, "Idiot," Grue commented while staring dully at him. Throwing the tray into the counter top, Tony dug into the chicken gobbling piece by piece ravenously. "This is some seriously good chicken! Kudos to your wife Grue, she's outdone herself!" Smiling the older man responded "My daughter Jessica made it , not my wife!" Looking from the plate, Tony wiped greasy stains from his mouth "Well even better! Your wife either way taught one hell of a cooking lesson to her! So, when can I meet Mrs. Grue?"

They were interrupted by screams of a toddler who ran into the kitchen, her short brown curls loosely sticking out in random places as she gripped Grue's knees. "Daddy, Jessie called the monster again!" Tony watched , as Grue took the child into his arms cradling her, "Jessie isn't calling the monster ,she's only bluffing. Besides no monster will ever get you as long as I'm here I'll protect you from all monsters Jessie calls, okay?" Rubbing noses with the infant, Grue released her as soon as she kissed his nose. The scene struck Tony deep inside in a way he couldn't imagine, he couldn't understand why but it felt as if a part of him was struck badly by the heartwarming scene of father and child. He didn't know why, after all he'd never been the sentimental type, clinging to other's for emotional support just wasn't him.

"Did you hear me?" Snapping out of his daze Tony pushed away the chicken bones "What?" Grue took the plate, placing it on the kitchen sink "I said sorry for sounding like a jerk, I'm just not used to having a partner. Anyway, about my wife, since you're going to hassle Enzo for information I might as well tell you. She passed away some time ago. She fell ill, and that was it. I mean it wasn't like she died the following day or something, she just withered away. Her health slowly began to fail, and one day she just didn't wake up. To this day doctors can't tell me what was wrong with her, they're still baffled. But that's not what's troubling me" Grue exhaled , Tony couldn't help but think he didn't like how this was going to end "What worried me is Jessica, I mean ever since the death of Irma , she took over the house duties , she quit school, her social life, everything. She dedicates her self to my other daughters, Tiki and Elizabeth and that's it. But recently she's been very fatigued, I tried sending her away to a relatives home so she can rest for a while but she won't do it, she comes back that same night."

Tony saw the pain in Grue's eyes as they slightly glazed over while he continued speaking " I just don't want her to get sick like Irma."

Coughing nervously the teen patted Grue on the shoulder lightly, "Maybe this is too much pressure for her, I mean she's just a kid she should be out enjoying life, not facing it like she is right now. Looks like you need some alone time I'll come back around six, we can head to Bobby's then."

Outside Tony walked back to the park where he had spent the morning.

"I can't remember you, I know I have memories of you deep inside me, but I can't find them, why?" Tony sighed his own past playing before his closed eyes like a movie. He'd never had the memory of a genius, but for some reason he could never recollect anything from his early childhood. His earliest memories were from age eleven. He'd woken up in hospital bed, and there was a couple sitting next to him telling him they were his new parents.

********

_My new parents, what happened to my old ones? _That was the only question he ever had for his 'family' and they could never provide him with an answer.

He recalled asking but no one ever had a response for him. For some reason his head was bandaged up, and his body had numerous bruises. There were several scratch marks all over his neck and chest but the doctors said he did it to himself while sleeping. The only thing tat remained with him from his childhood 'accident' was the sword he was carrying. He was told he was found embracing it.

He didn't even know the term 'Mercenary' until his fourteenth birthday when his neighbor, a seventeen year old boy named Joseph mentioned to him that he was running away from his home to work as mercenary.

"_What's a mercenary?" Tony asked, the others gave him a blank stare before bursting into laughter. Joseph looked Tony in the eye and answered "A job for true men, that's what! We're running away we're going to become to mercenaries, you stay here and rot in our hell of a town Tony, we'll send you a postcard or something!"_

"_I wanna be one too! Can I come along?" Tony's voice didn't mask the over-eagerness in it which caught the attention of the teens who were leaviong the city. Joseph and his friends laughed even harder than before shoving Tony into the dirt, "Listen up squirt, because we like you, we wont beat the crap out of you but don't ever say something as stupid as that, you're too young to go with us, people will notice your gone, your dead weight to us!" Joseph kneeled down to the young boy and whispered, "Wait 'till your fifteen, then come hunt us down."_

So he trained he never told the other teenager's pain stricken parents about their child's career choice, thinking that it might ruin his. So the following year was nothing but training for him. Well training and girls, which he always failed to successfully woo. The day after his fifteenth birthday he left his home. Not even leaving a good-bye note he walked out of town and into Sepulveda where he remained until he met Enzo six months ago.

He'd been having a streak of bad luck for nearly three months, no one wanted to hire him and for good reason , he proved to be the most destructible force in the entire city, causing thousands in damage.

He had been on his way home, an old boarding house near downtown Sepulveda , or as he called it the 'Crack house' with the sword dragging behind him, he ignored the sound of scraping metal while random sparks were ignited around him. He hadn't realized it but he was being followed, probably an ex employer angry with his work. The attack was anticipated. As soon as the first thug made his way to Tony, the teen threw the sword in the air, spun around and kicked his enemy in the gut as the man doubled over he was grabbed and head-butted. Reaching out Tony grabbed the sword's hilt, and struck down two more men who had charged at him. "C'mon guys no one ever told me it was going to be this boring! We might as well stop for a nap!" The brawl continued, all the while a lone stranger watched the entire incident awed at the sighted of a white haired kid beating the snot out of three adult men , all in a seven minute period.

The thugs groaned painfully on the ground as the held their stomachs or whatever body part was injured. "Don't be a bunch of wusses, we've just gotten started! Don't tell me I'm out of dance partners!" he was interrupted by the sound of clapping towards him came a short, pot bellied man in a khaki jacket and dark pants, his dark hair stuck out from his hat , his brown eyes gleaming as he continued to clap. "Bravo kid. I gotta say you are something! I'm glad I decided to stay in this city for one more night!"

Tony kicked aside one of the thugs, walking in the direction of the clapping man, "You care to tell me who the hell these clowns are? Or am I going to have to beat the crap out of you too?" The short man chuckled, "I'm not with them kid! But I gotta say, you've got skill! Dispatching three men in under ten minutes, now that's skill! You got a name? Judging by the oversized knife you carry I'm going to assume that you work as a mercenary, am I right?" Tony stopped for the first time analyzing the man before him, _He's not with them, then he's... _

Returning the blade to its sheathe, Tony looked the stranger straight in the eyes "If I were a mercenary, what's it you?"

A loud high pitched laughed escaped the man's lips. "Kid, you have Mercenary written all over your head. So what agency do you work for?" Tony shrugged "I don't have one. Hey you mind of we talk elsewhere? I don't want these clowns to call their friends for help."

And that's how it started. A chance meeting , a stranger in a unknown town, walking to his hotel room one moonlit night. That same night Tony found out who the strange man was, Enzo Ferino one of the most recognized names in the underground world. He was often labeled as an informant , but what he famously known for was the fact that he was the gateway to the mercenary business. Anyone wanted a decent start, they would have to seek Enzo out, if he approved of your skills he would find you a partner and commissioner, and if you were lucky, he'd be your boss.

Tony had heard of him before, he had read in magazines dedicated to the crime world of Enzo, and although he wasn't going to admit flattery to the stranger, it did surprise him that Enzo returned to Sepulveda several times and sought out Tony, in order to recruit him.

"You've got skills, you're perfect for this! I have someone in mind to be your partner but she's hasn't completed her training! When you arrive to Strafe you're going to be partnered up with the best I've got I'll make sure of it myself!"

********

Opening his eyes, Tony ruffled his hair, yawning viciously, the dream and distant memory fading to black as he stood up. "Crap, I fell asleep," dusting himself, he headed out of the park back to Grue's .

Nearby in Nell's shop Enzo was facing Violette who had called him to her apartment.

"Please don't make a scene," Nell warned them both as she sat in her corner working away, Enzo shifted nervously his eyes on the teen who was seated across from him, giving him a death glare. "So you ready to explain to me why you chose that idiot over me?" Enzo scratched his head trying to think of a good excuse, if he didn't he might just get killed on the spot. Violette although not as top notch as Grue , wasn't a novice when it came to firearms, he'd seen what she could do when provoked, and ending up with a bullet wound just wasn't in his plans, not today at least.

"Simple Vi, you see the boy already has street cred and experience , unlike you who although I wont deny your potential, well you haven't got enough experience yet to be with someone of Grue's caliber. Think of it this way, that kid will be with Grue for a short amount of time and then he'll move on, he told me so himself, he's not the type to stick with a partner for long, and when he does eventually leave town or renounce being my employee, you'll get your jump start! Besides your name is already well-known, in and out of town and you know why, why not stick to that profession I mean you're doing so good in it, people known you, you make good easy money, stick to looking pretty Vi, it suits you better. You don't want to spend your life watching your back constantly trust me, its not the way to live."

She scoffed unconvinced "Mom did it for over thirty years, Grue has been doing it for over twenty-five I think I can manage , anyways I want you to find me a partner. I've already begun training , Bobby arranged it for me, I'm going every Wednesday and Friday, but I want to have a partner already by the time I finish, okay?" Nell set down the welding torch and said "Did you just say that you started the training already?" the teen nodded turning in her mother's direction, "It's been three days since I started , oh that reminds me, I need a gun smith, Bobby wants me to take whatever weapon it is that I'm considering and show it to him, he wants to see it's potential." Enzo coughed, the thought of him losing money finally dawned him, "Wait! If you're training does this mean that-" she nodded "Yeah," she stood up and stretched her back, Enzo shuddered when he heard the bones in her spine crack "I put modeling on hiatus, at least until my training is finished."

Rising to his feet the overweight man said "You know what? I'll take over your training! I'll find you a partner and talk to Grue maybe we can reassign Tony to someone else, if I'm still your agent that is," smiling Violette gave him a kiss on the cheek "You're lucky you're my brother in-law, otherwise I might've reconsidered." Nell rolled her eyesthe voice on her head muttering_ She's only coming to you because she had no other choice_

Patting him on the back, Violette clenched her fists rising one in the air as she said "Then it's settled. Violette Goldstein is officially entering the mercenary business," Enzo hugged her, sighing in relief he knew he was going to live for one more day.


	5. Meeting

Chapter Five - Meeting

_As experienced as everyone says you are the fact is: you're incompetent _

With Enzo agreeing to supervise over Violette during her training the pair were hardly ever around, proving troublesome for Tony and Grue who needed the middleman's skills to land them jobs. But it seemed that every time they tried to get in contact with him, his cell phone was either turned off, or when he did answer, he was always in a hurry and hung up on them after a minute into the conversation

"This is why it's not convenient to work free-lance," Grue muttered one night as they sat out in his porch, gulping down a few beers, it had been almost a month and yet no word or sign that Enzo would be coming home soon. Looking up at the sky, Tony didn't answer as he finished his own beer setting the tin can down. "Free-lance is the only way to get the good jobs, full time is too complicated, people expect too much from you." Grue handed him another beer which he quickly opened, "I don't know about that I mean I've been full-time most of my career it wasn't until a few months ago when I went free-lance but its not a convenient economy, especially for me. I've three daughters who need a roof over their head. I can't just sit here and wait for someone to throw a bone at me," Tony nodded not sure what to say to the already drunk man.

Tony went through the week bored and out of work, it wouldn't be until that weekend when things would finally get interesting for him.

He'd been invited to Nell's apartment, the gun smith had taken a liking to him despite his constant attacks and blunt cruelty. He sat on her old sofa, watching a infomercial when she came out of her bedroom with a sketch pad. "Grue told me you needed a pair of pistols," she said to him as she sat down, "What did you have in mind?" she had a pencil tucked behind her ear, waiting for him to give her any details he could think of.

"How the hell am I suppose to know? Just something that wont jam or overheat while I'm in the middle of a fight." he recalled the last time he had used a gun during battle, the firearm over-heated and jammed right as he was going to make his killing move, his target escaped needless to say and , he was forced to return the money he had been paid as punishment for letting his target escape. Nell was busy sketching , although he couldn't see what she was up to, he could tell by the concentrated look on her face that it was something good. "I can design it right now, but you probably wont get you greasy hands on it for a while." He leaned back, staring at the old woman who was in deep concentration.

"Nell, we're back!" - Both Tony and Nell turned to the door as Enzo walked through it first smiling broadly, a second later, Violette walked through the door. Tony couldn't help but notice that she was starting to look somewhat attractive, despite the attitude problem and temper he had encountered the last time they had met. She wore a black form fitting halter dress, it's long strands tied around her neck, cascading down her exposed back, mixing in with her own dark hair which was tied in pig tails. Wearing leather boots which reached just below the knee, she looked like an ordinary goth, if not for the fact that there was a gun holster on her waist. There two pistols, both made of dark colored iron jutted out tapping against her exposed mid thighs. She didn't even notice Tony at first, her sights were set on her mother, until she heard that familiar, nagging voice.

"Ignoring me, are we? How sad, and here I thought we had something!" Tony said sarcasm dripping from his voice.

He stood up, grinning widely, Nell only watched silently wondering along with Enzo what he was going to do. "Been a long time since we've seen each other! So, Nell tells me you're joining the mercenary world! That's great we can always use more good looking girls like you! More customer potential," she gave him a blank stare, "Do you always talk like that , or is it just to annoy me?"

"A little of both, mostly the latter one"

"Moron,"

"What? You can't tell me you don't like the attention! Girls usually kill for a guy like me!"

"Sorry but I'm not one of them, besides when I want I real man, I'll be sure to look around."

Tony laughed "Oh! Was that suppose to be an insult?" he didn't even see her when she unsheathed th guns, next thing he knew, he was looking into one of the pistol's chambers. _She's fast,_ he thought while gently lowering the gun away from his eye.

"Feisty but I have to admit that kind of affection is a little too hard core for babe."

Returning the guns to their leather cradles, she looked him in the eye but said nothingonly the voice in her head echoed _Why pester me like this? What the hell are you trying to do?_

Scooting over to Nell, Enzo whispered "We should get out of here, before lead flies." without warning both adults were gone leaving the teenagers by themselves.

"So," Tony said as he plopped down on the sofa yet again, Violette simply watching his moves "Care to sit down with me? Have a beer, celebrate your coming to my world?"

She looked into his eyes as she tied her hair into a ponytail, a few loose strands hanging around her face, " What in hell's name do you mean 'your' world? This is my world, you just happen to come across it, I don't know why Enzo thinks you're so talented but in my eyes you're incompetent and a moron, now stop– " she was silenced, rather shocked at what he had just done. Not able to take her nagging anymore, he grabbed her by both wrists after she had lowered them and pulled her down forcing his lips unto hers. _If this doesn't shut her up, I don't think anything will. _Pulling away he grinned widely, "That wasn't too bad, was it?"

Without warning the gun appeared in her hands again this time she fired round after round at him, sending him to the floor he rolled out her way, avoiding her bullets as much as he could. "Okay that was uncalled for, but you have to admit you like it!" he tried to sneak a peek at what she was doing but was shot at again. "You son of a-- What gave the right to do that?" he heard her as she reloaded the gun, taking the moment of distraction, he ran up to her, twisting the gun out of her wrists, it looked as if they were dancing as they spun around the living room, each trying to dominate the other. "When I get my hands on you" she barked at him, her eyes glued on him, he could tell that the fact that he was so cool about what he had just done was pissing her off even more.

"Relax, it was only a kiss it wasn't as if I stole your first kiss!" The silence coming from her aroused his suspicion. "Wait , don't tell me," she tried to kick him in the groin but narrowly missed. Forcing her against the wall, he held her legs in place while spreading them apart keeping her pinned , he took not that the skirt of her dress had been lifted almost to her panties, his crotch grinding against her for a second as he kept her against the wall despite her attempt to free herself from his grasp. "Yes," she finally said, her eyes showing a little pain as she tried to avoid his curious eyes "That was my first kiss, and you stole it from me," he breathed on her as he looked into her eyes she tried lowering her head but it was no use. He was still right there and what was worse was that his mouth was inches away from hers, to her it seemed that he was creeping towards her again.

_Do get sucked into this Vi. You can't afford any distractions , not from him or anyone. Your job as a mercenary comes before everyone and everything including this clown .Especially this clown_ Violette sighed, defeated "Just let me go, we'll call it truce. I'll pretend it never happened, just get out of here already." letting go of her, she inhaled relieved to have her personal space once again.

"So, what's your name again?" Tony asked as he picked up the gun tossing it on the sofa.

"Violette, now go leave me alone, if my mother sees the way you had me against the wall she'll kill you, she doesn't take kindly to anyone who she thinks will try to seduce me,"

Tony smirked "I can the understand why the old lady is so protective of you, you...you're a okay girl to around."

Smiling at her, Tony walked out the door calmly, keeping his cool all the way to the elevator. The doors opened a second later, a blonde girl stepped out of it, her eyes on Tony almost instantly. "Well, hello there" she said to him in a flirty tone. Chuckling he stepped into the elevator pressing the ground floor button "Nice seeing you too," he said aloud as the doors closed, the blonde winked at him then walked away.

Downstairs he was met by both Nell and Enzo who were waiting for him outside the building entrance, "She didn't kill you," Enzo said patting the mercenary on the back "Must mean she likes you, that's good you two are going to be seeing a lot more of each other from now on! Let's go celebrate the fact you passed the test! I'll buy you strawberry sundaes or whatever dessert it is you like, Nell you're invited too, c'mon!" Turning down the offer, she politely left the two to talk business.

"I have your second job lined up for you,"Enzo said to Tony as they walked down the street past a shoe store."Really, what is it this time?" Tony asked looking into the glass panes, observing what the stores around him had to offer. "Easy, locals again but they offered me, uh I mean _you_ five hundred dollars for a job, but it's out of town, think you can handle it?" Tony shrugged walking ahead, his long legs striding getting him farther and farther away from Enzo who was trying to keep up with the teen. "Sure, I can handle it, aren't we going to wait for Grue though? That way we both can hear the details at the same time?" Enzo nodded, noting that next to Tony it almost seemed that he was waddling to keep at the teen's pace. "Hey, you wanna walk a little slower, I look like a freaking duck trying to keep up with your pace," Tony eyed the commissioner from the corner of his eyes "Well at least your getting some form of exercise, it beats you sitting at Bobby's all day gulping down beer and eating all the food he has."

"Hey, what the, you can't talk to me like that I'm your boss!" Enzo exclaimed wobbling increasing the pace he walked.

Tony laughed at him and stopped turning around to face the chubby Italian, "Yeah, you are, but right now I get the feeling that you need me more than I need you. Besides, Nell told me about that debt you owe to Rodrigo," Enzo's blood almost chilled for an instant. He didn't think Tony would of caught on that fast with what was going on in town, after all it hadn't even been three months since he had arrived.

"Yeah, I know about it. You owe the mafia six grand all because you were greedy in a gambling debt. Which only happened because Violette works as a model ,since you're her agent you make fifty percent of whatever she's paid but you never thought she'd stop working to join the mercenary world. Which is where I fit in, I'm your trump card, well myself and Grue that is. You figure that we're talented enough to gather attention from clients and we'll be backed up with jobs, hopefully you'll make the money you owe plus the interests." They stood in the middle of the street, Tony's boss had no idea what to reply.

Continuing down the street, the silver haired boy finally said after a moment of silence "Do what you want , I don't care, just make sure you're ripping off those of us that wont kill you in an instant." Tony patted his sword and continued down the crowded streets. "Hey, did you just, did you just threaten me!" Enzo screamed behind him, trying to keep up with the boy's pace. "Think of it however you want, you know I don't care. So long as I get my share of the pay, that is."

Enzo grinned, "Well you have the mentality of true mercenary, you focus solely on the goal you need to attain" Tony scoffed "Stop trying to kiss ass, it doesn't suit you. You want to stay on my good side, then shut the hell up." Enzo chuckled "I'm only doing my job, any who, you want to hear the details to the job now or what?" Tony shook his head "Wait 'till we get to Grue's home then you can tell me what it is you need to tell me" they walked through the crowds , Tony stopping every now and then so Enzo could catch to him. Twenty minutes later, they were walking through the doorway of the veteran's home. "Grue, we're here!" Enzo shouted as they entered the kitchen area, Tony helping himself to the refrigerator almost instantly. "Damn, they don't have any ice cream," they heard the sound of heavy boots, and children running.

"Girls, please wait I can't catch you both!"

Running into the kitchen, the smallest of the girls froze when they saw Tony digging through the freezer. "Daddy, Mr. Tubby is here" Grue entered the kitchen, Tony giving Enzo a confused look "Tubby?" The Italian shrugged, "A nickname the girls gave me, nothing more." Grue lifted one of the children unto his shoulders, eyes fixed on both men standing in front of him. "How the hell did you two get in here?" Enzo held a pair of bronze keys dangling them in front of his employees face "You gave me a copy of the keys to your house remember? Anyway we're here to talk business with you, I have a new assignment for you two, a local job again but well paying"

Jessica entered the kitchen a moment later, her eyes on Tony . "Oh, h-hi" she quietly said to him, the older teen simply flashing a slight smile. "Jess, take the baby go to your room, I'll check on you girls later," taking the baby into her arms, she obediently walked out of the room going upstairs. Grue sighed when he realized why his daughter had been so eager to know if Enzo was coming over that day,_ Great, just what I needed Jessica developing a crush on the new guy_. Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned over his counter "So, what's the new job?"

Enzo reached into the bag he was carrying pulling out a file "You got hired by a local, but its an out of town assignment. Original pay was one thousand, but pay was severely reduced after a second team was employed. You guys are getting half the cut, but there is a six hundred bonus if one of the teams safely takes your target to the safety point."

Grue raised an eyebrow in interest "An escort mission? Is that why we're two teams?" Enzo nodded "Yeah, the first team is already taken off, you guys have to leave tonight, you will be escorted to your destination." Grue read the opened file, biting his lower lip, a trait he did whenever something seemed wrong to him. "Smuggling? If the mafioso is that influential, why doesn't he get escorted by own men?" Enzo shrugged snatching the files from Grue before Tony had a chance to read them. "I don't wanna know why , the point is you guys have been hired to get this guy out to the harbor. The feds are on his ass so he needs to get back to his country before he gets caught. No to mention there is a bounty on his head, a very _large_ bounty, for that matter." Tony only listened as the commissioner and his partner argued back and forth, until he finally spoke. "If he hired us, must mean he's desperate, right? Why not go and do what we're going to get paid for?"

He would have regretted that comment later that evening.

"I'm soooo cold!" Tony pathetically whined as they rode in the back of a car on their way to the harbor. After listening to Tony's endless bickering, Grue had finally decided to take the job and now it was he who was eager to get it over with, unlike Tony who now regretted ever opening his mouth. Tony blew into his hands as he rubbed them together trying to keep himself warm. He was wearing a pair of jeans and his red coat, nothing more. "Of course you're cold, who the hell told you to dress like that anyway? I wouldn't be surprised if you caught a cold out here tonight," Grue mumbled to him in a scold. Tony huddled next to his partner trying to gather more body heat, "I couldn't help it, I had to look good." Grue shook his head "Well I hope you enjoy looking good while sick in bed,"

Tony smirked "Was that your way of saying you're worried about me?"

Grue didn't respond, he didn't have time to. The car had halted to a stop, before them were a line of men, no doubt mercenaries hired to kill the man they were suppose to protect.

"I see about a hundred of them out there," Tony said cooly while opening the car door, jumping out of the vehicle. The line of men stretched on, beyond what he could make out, he was sure that the rest of his enemies were hidden in the dark shadows of the moonless night.

"I'll take the guys surrounding the car, you take anyone who nears the car, got it?"


	6. Competition

ﾗｾﾙ ﾒｲ ｺﾖｲ

Chapter Six - Competition

_Watch your back, it's the only good advice that I can give to you_

Both men readied their weapons as they examined their surroundings, "We can take them on," Tony said cooly as he gripped his sword with one hand. Grue cocked his Python, "Just don't get too cocky kid, or else you'll end up dying here tonight." The silver haired teen bared his widest grin "Someone maybe be dying tonight, but it sure as hell isn't me! Now let's do this!" The mercenaries on the opposite side attacked in union, lashing out at Tony, Grue, and their client's own men who were being overtaken.

Tony moved through the crowd of armed men with the same grace as the night of his first mission. Using the wide blade, he swung at enemies, striking them down, batting them aside as he plowed through the crowd. "Don't make me use the pointy end !" He screamed at one terrified opponent who fell backwards unto the ground. Jumping over him, Tony raced through the armed men, screaming at the top of his lungs "Look for the boss, if we take out the guy in charge, they'll probably back off!"

Grue couldn't help but roll his eyes at that. In his experience, that would almost never happened. "Whatever you say!" The crime boss they'd been hired to protect, stood on the roof of his vehicle, a machine gun in each hand. "Come and get me you bastards!" Grue shook his head when he realized what his client was doing, "He's asking to get his head cut off," he muttered to himself as he shot a man who was nearing the car. _Where the hell is the other team that was hired by this idiot?! _The mind of the older mercenary races as he fought to keep both his cool and his ground.

Grue was attacked from behind, startled he dropped his Python somewhere in the dark chaos, "Fuck." Struggling with his attacker, they fought for dominance over each other until his rival was shot in the leg, his enemy fell to the ground groaning as he held his leg, Grue simply kicked the man in the face knocking him out. Rising to his feet, Grue looked around to see who had fired the shot. Tony grinned like an idiot, holding a Mauser in one hand. "Thought you needed some help," he tossed something to Grue, who caught it one handed, it was his beloved Python. "Thanks," he called out as Tony vanished into the crowd yet again.

Wiping the blood that had smeared on his face, Grue continued protecting his client, until he ran out of ammo. Relying on his fists, he made quick work of anyone who neared the mafioso or himself.

An hour into the fight, the reinforcements finally came.

He couldn't pinpoint where they had come from but he saw at least three of them. Jumping over the dueling crowd, they slaughtered anyone who stood in their way. Two he could tell were women, and the third a male. Although their ages were unknown to him, he could tell by their fast paced movements that either they were young or very experienced. Maybe it was both. All three dressed in black, only one of the women wore a dress, the other, jeans and a shirt covered by a long black coat. The male was also wore a body length coat, all three had their faces hidden behind cloth masks. Both the male and one of the women were using short swords, while the third was using a cat o' nine whip. Her opponents made sickening cries as she tore into their flesh with her hook-laced whip. Blood soon covered her body, with her partners behind her, it seemed to Grue that the tallest of the females was leading her group in a blood-filled path. The older mercenary couldn't help but shake his head at the sight, true he was in no position to judge, but seeing the way that his 'comrades' tore though their opponents made him sick.

"Hey, who're they?" Turning around he was face to face with a puzzled Tony. "That's the second group that had been hired to protect the mafioso," he explained to the boy. He couldn't help but notice that the sword wasn't caked in blood. "What're you looking at?" Tony asked until he figured it out "Oh! Yeah, I haven't killed anyone! Stunned the hell out of them and beat them senseless, but no killing tonight! Figured our so-called help would do enough of the bloodshed tonight. Now, since back up has arrived, how about you and I get the hell out of here? We'll wait the fight out in the hill overlooking this pace," he pointed to his destination which was at least a half mile off. "You got it," Grue answered already heading for the hill.

The fighting died out another hour later.

Corpses littered the road, only two people stood among the dead. A man and a woman dressed in black, Grue and Tony's partners. "Heh, look at that. They made it," Tony took one look at them and said "Yeah, but they're one partner short there were two girls, now there's only one." The survivors checked out their surroundings, the female kicking a corpse out of her way. Tony noticed that Grue had his eyes fixed on the woman, a stern scowl on his face. "Checking her out? I thought you weren't looking for a wife!" Grue ignored the tease and pointed to her "She looks familiar, I mean I know we can't see her face, but her movements," an enemy stood from the pile of corpses only to be quickly dispatched by the strange woman. With surprising speed she jumped on her opponent using her legs to break his neck. "Ouch," was all Tony replied the sound of his neck cracking echoing through the destroyed valley. Without warning the woman jumped off of the corpse of her enemy and ran in their direction, Grue had his hands on Python "You think she sees us as a threat?"

Tony didn't answer his eyes fixed on her. "Come to papa."

Before Grue could even fire at her, she jumped over him spinning in the air landing behind him, the blade against his throat. "Don't move," she said in a low growl, eyes fixed on him. Grue dropped the Python in surprise, hands slowly lifting into the air. "All right you win, what the hell do you want?!" Tony smiled, hands on his hips as he walked around them, her eyes following him like a predator on its prey. "You know it isn't nice to attack your friends," she lowered her blade jumping away from Grue as he turned a smaller gun in his hands ready for anything that might happen. Dropping the knife to the ground it landed on the ground with a thud, but both men ignored it their eyes fixed on the female who had risen her hands to her face, her mask slowly coming off. They watched in silence as a familiar face soon emerged from the mask. " If I were a real enemy you would have been dead by now Grue," she tossed the mask to Grue who caught with one hand while lowering his own weapon.

"You scared the hell out of me!" Was all that Grue could manage to say, embarrassed that he had been shown up by one of his former students. " I guess the training I had came in handy after all, huh?" She said proudly beaming, smiling widely. "Eh, lucky first job," Grue muttered as they began to walk down the hill together, Tony and Violette talking excitedly among themselves.

" I just wanted to see how fast you were in battle-mode. You're getting sloppy, maybe this is a sign Grue. Quit while you're on top of your game" he ignored her pretending he didn't hear a thing.

"Who the hell is the guy you're with?" Tony said after a quick silence, hoping to change the atmosphere, as dense as he was, even he could tell that what Violette had done had upset his partner. The teen shrugged, her pigtails bouncing with each movement she made. "Hell if I know, I met him today. Enzo said the guy transferred from another town, just looking to make some quick money and be on his way more or less." Tony grabbed the whip she was carrying around her waist, examining it, but before he was able to comment on it, Violette snatched it away from him putting it away. "Hey!" Tony argued, but she had turned her attention to Grue, "Who was the man you guys were supposed to protect?" He raised an eye brow at her shifting his head sideways in confusion "What do you mean that 'you guys'? Weren't you hired to protect someone as well?" She shook her head, her pigtails bouncing, "No I was hired to wipe out anyone who came across my path which in general was everyone out here tonight."

"Well doesn't matter anyway, we failed. The mobster we had to keep alive is over there, the guy in the red vest, no right arm." Grue mentioned to a corpse a few yards away half its head missing as well as an arm. "Ew, did we do that?" Violette asked narrowing her eyes at the carnage. Tony crossed his arms over his chest and coughed twice indicating that someone was approaching them. The other two turned around just as the girl's surviving partner approached them, his honey colored eyes fixed on Tony before turning to Violette.

"Vi, we have to go."

She nodded and turned to Grue, "I'll see you at home tonight?" He nodded and pulled out his cell phone, "Don't you mean today? It's already 4:26 a.m." she quickly raised her shoulders at him and walked away with her partner, "Doesn't matter, the point is I'll see you there okay?" He lazily waved her off, turning back to Tony. "Let's go find Enzo he owes us our pay." Tony followed his partner as they walked back into the dirt road walking back toward town, neither of them noticing that Violette's partner had decapitated the corpse of the man whom they were suppose to protect.

Later that day...

"What the hell do you mean, you let your client _die_?! Do you know what you two idiots have done? Now no one is going to want to hire you morons! Everyone will know that they can't depend on you guys for a job! We're ruined!" The trio sat in a corner of Bobby's Cellar, Enzo screaming at the top of his lungs, yet no one in the bar could probably overhear him. "Relax, it's not the end of the world," Tony enjoyed his usual treat , Grue gulped down a mug of skunky beer. Enzo shook his head, as he put away the files he had on the last job. "You realize that now, if word gets out, your competition will be Vi, right? I mean at least she was resourceful enough to decapitate the guy and turn his head in for a bounty," Tony raised his head from the glass bowl, face smeared as if a blind person had attempted to put make-up on his face. "What do you mean she 'decapitated' the client?"

Enzo threw in his direction the receipt of a completed job, Violette's name was written as well as a sum reward of $50,000 for completed requirements. Tony read the document carefully, tossing it back at Enzo a second later, "So she's a cold-blooded killer, big deal. We're all killers in the end of it all," Enzo shook his head "No, what matters to the public is that you know what to do if the case calls for it, anyway there's nothing we can do about it now. Just hope that the word doesn't spread out so much that it hurts your chances of getting employment, got it?" He hopped off of his seat heading for the door, "If you have any questions, call me!" He then walked out the bar's door into the well-lit streets. "So, what do we do now?" Tony asked, smiling stupidly . Grue rolled his eyes as he stood up, throwing a twenty-dollar bill on the table "I'm going home, need to check on the girls. You I don't know, go kill time over at Nell's or something or whatever the hell it is you do when you're on your own. But I'll meet you at the shop at six, got it?" Strapping his Python to his waist again, he also left, leaving the boy to sit quietly in the dark corner.

******************************

_How long has it been? How long has it been since I've had nightmares? Since I've woken up in the middle of the night screaming names I don't even know?_

Violette sat in the bathtub, cold water drizzling down on her from the shower she watched the water trickled down her chest, unto the tub, the dark locks getting in her eyes as she lowered her head, palms flat on the white marble tub.

She had been in under the water for nearly two hours scrubbing furiously at her body, until parts of her flesh were scrapped raw. "Have to scrub the blood, I don't want to..." she whispered to herself, unable to hear her own words. After what seemed like forever she finally turned the water off, and wrapped herself in a bathrobe, walking slowly into her room.

"Don't take too long, Grue and Tony will be here at six," Nell cried out from her small workstation, exhausted. The old woman had pulled an all-nighter to finish a custom order and still had three pieces to complete before she could turn in for a bit of rest. The adult simply listened as her daughter gently closed the door of her bedroom behind her, seconds later the blaring of Cradle of Filth was heard through the thin walls.

Violette's room was like that of any teenager. Well, any privileged teenager that is.

Black curtains covered the single window, preventing the sun's rays from penetrating through, a single bed was in the far corner, a wide, black desk was on the opposite corner, on the desk two small lamps. Posters decorated the room, most from bands like Cradle of Filth, Night wish, Maximum the Hormone , Stratovarius , and High and Mighty Color. A bookshelf rested near the door way filled with all sorts of books, next to the desk on the wall, a flat screen television was mounted with a game console resting underneath it, its wires hanging from the space between the electronics. A small door led to an over sized closet filled with Lolita-style clothing and other Goth-like accessories as well as boots.

Throwing herself on her bed, she closed her eyes, drifting off into a light sleep.

_I shouldn't go to sleep I might have nightmares again._

Sitting up, she decided it was best to get dressed instead.

Nell stuffed the movable components of a shotgun barrel with wax paper, when her door was kicked open a loud voice exclaiming "Alright! I'm here, let's get this party started!"

The old woman rolled her eyes as silver hair came into view as well as red. Tony threw himself on the dusty old sofa his long legs forming a bridge to the coffee table before him. "This isn't a social hangout. Why are you here?" Nell barked setting the gun on her desk. He grinned at her, "What? You don't like it when I come around? If I remember , you gave me an open invitation to come over whenever I wanted, or did your old geezer brain forget about it already?"

She sighed "Let me guess, Enzo established the little reunion again, didn't he?" Tony nodded reaching for the T.V. remote turning the small electronic on. "Why don't you fix me a little meal, y'know be a good host?" She glared at him, shuffling over to him, "Get bent. Violette is in her room, why don't you pester her for a while? I'm sure she'll be glad to see you again," he bit his lower lip rasing his eyebrows in surprise. "You wont mind if I lock myself in the room with her? I'm a full-grown man, I might want to take her to bed." She pulled a small pistol from her pocket, coking it . "You do that, and I promise I'll take from you more than your damn manhood. Besides just because you know how to have sex, that doesn't make you a man. Just makes you a horny teenager. And I can take care of that."

He gave her a disgusted look "You're going to rape me? You know as much as I appreciate the offer Nell, you're not exactly my type."

Ignoring his comment, she aimed at an imaginary target. Pretending he was shot, Tony grunted hand over his chest. "Aw, Nell, you shot me," he fell sideways on the couch, hair over his eyes. "I died." She smiled scoffing lightly, "You're nothing more than a kid at heart, do you know that?" He stood up, removing his weapons, "People have said that to me before, but eh. So, onto your daughters' room." He rubbed his hands together, grinning widely.

Nell couldn't help but think that she was going to regret inviting him into her daughter's room.

"Vi, babe. You in there?" He knocked on the door twice, before it swung open.

"Why are you here?" Before him stood his rival dressed all in black, fumbling with a lace glove. "Hey, just thought I'd drop by." She looked to the side and said "I invited Grue to come over, not you." He walked past her into her room, looking at his surroundings. "So you're Goth huh? Heh, I guess that explains why you act like such a bitch." Sitting on her bed he smiled as she crossed her arms over her stomach. "And you're a moron. Did you come just to insult me?" He shook his head, "Nah. I came to visit you, weren't you paying attention?"

Silence reigned for a while before he finally said, "I gotta ask: Are you the same Violette Goldstein that poses for GUN?" She didn't say anything, instead she pointed to the wall behind him. Turning around he saw a large poster of her, posing in a black bikini, a cloudy background behind her. A pair of guns on her waist, her hair was cut in several layers, her green eyes seemed to be glowing, the expression on her face was seduceful, that Tony would admit . "Huh, not bad, not bad for a kid. But I think I'll stick to Playboy, or Maxim. When you grow a larger pair of tits, let me know."

Her face reddened, fists clenched, she tried to kick him he moved out of her way pulling her into the bed with him, he quickly got on top of her upper body holding her wrists firmly against the bed "Aw, did I hurt your feelings?"

"F-fuck you."

He smiled, staring into her eyes, ignoring her blush as he came down and whispered into her ear "Don't tell me I hit a nerve again. You need to take it easy, be more laid back. I'm sure you give pedophiles everywhere a hard-on." She wriggled, cursing loudly, while he chuckled lightly as she tried to kick him her legs wide open leaving him in her center. "If I wanted to I could probably cop a feel right now," he said to her one hand inching towards her thighs. "You do that, and I'll kill you." He smirked leaning down on her he neared her lips, his almost on hers when he suddenly jumped off of her. "Don't worry . I stole your first kiss, but I have no intention of dying in Nell's hands. She already warned me."

She sat up, her breathing somewhat off. _Bastard, why is this bastard messing with me?! Be strong, Vi, be strong this idiot is nothing more than a passing phase._ She dusted herself, avoiding his taunting look . "Get out of my room. Go wait for Grue or something._" _He shrugged exiting the room, proud smile on his face._ So that's the prodigy of Strafe, huh? Funny, she doesn't seem threatening at all._

_A/N And that's it for now. Im still rewriting the other chapters so it might take a bit longer to get them on here. Im also working on another stroy, this time for Resident Evil and that one should be up soon ^.^ Amber-chan thank you for sticking with me throughout my lousy writing skills!!!_


	7. Misfits

Chapter Seven - Misfits

_We're needed, of course we are. Otherwise people wouldn't have someone to pick on._

Their meeting was a brief one. Enzo divided up the weekly work among the two teams he now had, Grue and Tony, and Violette and the blue-eyed stranger. Against Tony's will it was decided that he should go back to training, Grue would be held responsible for finding his partner a trainer. The groups were paid and just as quickly as they had arrived, Grue, Enzo and the stranger vanished, on to carry their own lives.

"So, what do we do now?" Tony asked Nell who had taken a seat in her work corner after listening to the mercenaries meeting. The old lady ignored him, pulling out a gun frame from one of the desk's drawers. "Are you deaf? I said what do we do now?!" She slammed the gun frame on her desk, looking up at him. Looking into his blue eyes, she said loudly "I want you to know that I think you're a pain in the ass," he grinned almost as if he had been complimented "Great, so you love me. Hey, Vi you hear that? Your mom likes me!" Violette was on the phone, her response was rolling her eyes at him. He smiled still, doing a full turn "Well old lady I'd like to chat with you some more, but I gotta go. Business to attend to, women to chase after, you know it's a busy life being me!"

Nell shook her head, "I'm sure it is kid, now go before I ban you from my home." He walked past the dark-haired teen and smiled at her while walking out the door, but he was so distracted that he never noticed it was still closed and instead walked right into it, hurting his nose. "I meant to do that," he called out quickly opening the door and rushing out of there. Violette suppressed a giggle, momentarily distracted from her phone call. Outside, he rubbed his nose muttering "Smooth, real smooth. I think I have lousy luck when it comes to impressing women." He pressed the button to summon the elevator when a voice behind him said "Do you have a habit of talking to yourself?" He turned around and was met by a pair of brown eyes. "No, only when a sweet thing like you isn't around for me to talk to, I'm Tony and you are . . . ?"

The brown eyes had an owner, she was slim, shorter than Tony and blond, in short his type of girl .

She extended her hand, "Claire. Claire Rogers, I live next to door to Violette and Nell" he watched as she swept a hand through her hair a smile on her face. "So, you work with them? I noticed you come here often," Tony nodded "Yeah, I work with Vi's commissioner, Enzo." Claire bit her lower lip, a scowl quickly surfacing and then dying out, Tony looked away acting as he hadn't seen anything. Claire coughed and then said "I thought you were Violette's boyfriend or something," he laughed, a dry sarcastic laugh until he realized she wasn't kidding. A serious expression was over his face as he said "What? No, Vi's a . . . well, let's just leave it at this : I've yet to meet the guy with enough stamina to put up with her," he earned a laugh from Claire who walked over to him "Want to come inside? I'm home alone my dad is out of town on business," he shrugged walking toward her door as she fumbled with her keys_ She's nervous_he thought as the door was finally opened. "Out of town, he's a Merc too?" She shook her head, "No he's actually a trucker. Probably among the few who don't work as mercenaries in this hell hole." He bit back a laugh true he couldn't judge a stranger, but he found her remark somewhat offending. "Hell hole? You hate Strafe?" Claire nodded, as they both entered she offering him a seat while still speaking "Of course I do in this town no woman will ever make a decent living. Not unless you do what Violette does, anyway." He sat down listening as she ranted on he could tell this might take a while if he didn't stop her soon.

"And just what does she do?" Tony asked curious to see how mad she would get. Claire narrowed her eyes as she sat down next to him lost in her own little moment "She's seen as the town's prodigy. The only successful thing to come to this shit hole in over twenty years, her mother taught her the ropes in gun smithing and the top mercenaries took her under their wing and taught her all they know about the mercenary world. She has it made for her while other girls like me have to fight for a piece of the action and most likely I'm going to end up as someone's fat wife." Tony sighed, scratching the back of his head "Maybe you just aren't cut out for this, you know just 'cause you live in a place that thrives off of this profession doesn't mean you should go and do the same," he shrugged off a smile at her she turned to him, smiling lightly, "Maybe, but then again," Tony nodded sure of his own advice, feeling his own confidence boost, "Yeah think about it, not everyone is cut out for the Merc business, maybe you're just mean for greater things, you know, politics or some rich guys beautiful wife."

The silver haired teen rose to his feet and then said "I'd like to chat some more, but I gotta run, I have an appointment to keep, sorry." Claire watched as Tony showed himself out, and called out as the door closed behind him "Come back anytime, uh, uh, Tony!" he couldn't help but smile as he summoned the elevator again. "I think my luck's getting better, maybe this town isn't so bad after all."

He calmly walked through the streets arms resting on the top of his head as he hummed a light tune. The clouds parted for a moment allowing the sun's rays to stream down shine down on everything. Caught off guard, Tony was momentarily blinded but just as quickly recovered and shielded his eyes away closing them as he lifted his hand to protect them from the strong rays of light.

"_So, who the hell is the Prodigy of Strafe?" Tony sat across from a girl his age at a diner while they waited on acquaintances she was reading the latest issue of GUN, a magazine specializing in the mercenary business. He squinted as he tried to get a clear view of the girl on the cover of the magazine, but the girl across form him kept moving the article around. He crossed his arms and huffed "She doesn't seem like such a threat? Why, who is she again?" "What are you stupid?" The teenage girl responded as she lowered the magazine, eyebrows raised high, the teen slid the magazine across the table for Tony who picked it up slowly. _

"_The Prodigy is a girl, they've been writing about her for some time now. You know, the girl who works underground modeling? There's a controversy to it because she's only like, sixteen?" Tony skimmed through the magazine, uninterested. "Nope. Never heard of her, sorry Jenny." He grinned at her as she snatched her the magazine in fury, "You really are stupid, aren't you? Her name's Violette Goldstein! She's the envy and idolization of every girl in this business and the ultimate trophy wife for men! She's everything any girl could ever want to be! Anyway, this month's issue is dedicated to her because she just announced that she's leaving GUN and working on her own project, Mercenary a self created magazine for men that has everything from articles about our jobs, to just pictures of famous female mercenaries willing to pose for her." _

_Tony chuckled lightly, "She's Jewish?" Jenny gave him a glare, to which he responded "What you said her name was Goldstein! That's Jewish!" She shook her head, "No you moron, she's not Jew, but she is trying to join the mercenary ranks. She announced it this week, modeling will become a part time job and she will dedicate herself to our ways in honor of her mother." The silver haired teen rolled his eyes, he knew there was a reason as to why so much attention towards one brat. "Sounds like another rich kid who has nothing to do but kill time."_

Tony chuckled as he opened his eyes, the sun's rays dying out, the memory in his head also quietly fading.

The rest of the week and month for the mercenary teams were slow and dull. No one wanted to hire Tony's team on account that they let their last client die and no one wanted to hire Violette's team on account that they killed their client for money.

Tony and Grue were stuck in Bobby's cellar waiting for Enzo and a job while Violette and her partner were holed up in her apartment with her mother who was in her corner as usual working away on her latest pieces.

"I hate freelance work," Grue muttered while sitting down a mug of beer in hand. "I've heard that one before," Tony answered not looking at his partner who fished out his old worn out wallet, staring at it with some disgust.

Tony peered in as Grue opened it, half expecting to see a fly escape from the empty wallet like he'd seen in cartoons.

"What? Not happy with the money you made? Well hand it over, I'll be more than glad to take it off your hands," Grue shot his partner a dirty look while downing the last of his beverage "Get bent." Tony scoffed raising his arms "What? I was only trying to help!" The older man shook his head, "It's not that, it's just . . . It's been a hard month got it? Jessica's birthday is in a couple of weeks and, crap. I just don't have the funds for the party she wants." Tony glanced at him and said "Then why not just tell her that you don't have the means to throw her a party? Better to let her know now then to get her hopes up. That would be too harsh, wouldn't it?" Grue muttered something in response but it wasn't audible, but from what Tony could tell the old man was pretty upset._ "_If it's bothering you that much, then why won't you tell Vi to lend you some money, we both know she can afford to spare some extra.,"Grue shook his head "I can't do that. She's helping out Nell and not to mention still paying that cheapskate Enzo for doing absolutely nothing. Her money is going in at least four different directions I don't want to be another burden for her."

The teen didn't answer as he helped his partner rise to his feet. "Well, I say you should think about it you have nothing to loose if you ask her, or I'll tell her for you," the older man shook his had again as they wobbled out of Bobby's Cellar and into the dark streets. "N-no, you can't ask Vi, she's got so much respect for me. W-what if she thinks I'm a failure as a mercenary because I want to borrow money from her?" Tony shook his head surprised and disgusted at seeing this side of the veteran. "Why the hell is one girl's opinion so important to you guys?! She's just a brat! Talented I'll give her that, but a brat nonetheless!" They dragged each other along the alleyway that led to Grue's home before stopping momentarily in front of Violette's apartment complex. "I'll ask her for you, Grue don't worry about it."

After dropping off the drunken man and making sure he had safely entered his home Tony went on his way towards the cheap motel he and Enzo would usually reside in. "Hey kid! You're late, where ya been?!" Enzo cried out as soon as the silver haired teen stepped through the door. Tony muttered a greeting and went straight to bathroom. "Nice talking to you too," Enzo responded as the plumbing creaked, his attention turning back to the television which was on full blast. Tony emerged from the bathroom an hour later, stream trailing behind him as he walks past Enzo drying his hair and plopping down on the bed. The commissioner took one look at the boy and then said, "What the hell has been eating at you boy? You look pissier than my ex-wife," the boy cast him a curious glance, "You were married?" The Italian nodded, "Another story, for another day. Now what the hell is crawling up your ass? Is it 'cuz you haven't had a job in a month? Face it, I warned you both that failing that mission was going to have serious consequences."

Before his boss could continue, Tony said "How can approach I Violette for money?"

Enzo looked as if he had been told that he was fired.

"W-what?! Are you out of your mind boy?! W-why!? I'm not paying you enough?! Hey, if it's monetary issues, don't sweat it I can give you a loan, no problem!" Enzo fished out his wallet and began to rifle through its contents spilling out a stack of dollar bills.

"What the hell is up with you, I just asked a question, why are you getting so worked up?" Tony ignored the money that had been placed in front of him, tossing the damp towel aside he threw his head on the dirty pillow, arms under his head he drifted off into a light sleep.

"_Hurry up or we're going to leave you!" _Children raced through a forest laughing and teasing one another, they were playing tag. Two boys and a girl all three were smiling and laughing. The girl although she seemed smaller than the boys, could easily jump up into the taller branches of the large oak trees that surrounded them. _"No fair, we said no tree climbing!" _One of the boys cried out to the small girl as she literally flew above them jumping from tree to tree. Tony stood behind the children unable to see their faces watching as they raced through the thick bushes catching each other again and again. "Hey kid," he called out to one of the boys when they paused momentarily. The boy was wearing a light red shirt and khaki pants, his hair almost the same color as Tony's own hair. "Brat!" The teen screamed in an annoyed tone, surprised the child turned to Tony but to Tony's surprise the boy had no face. "What the fuck?!" Tony staggered back but bumped into another of the children, turning he was in front of the girl she looked up at him, only there were no eyes to greet him, only a wide grin bearing sharp incisors.

"Get the hell away from me," he muttered jumping away from her as she took a step towards him. "_Do you want to play with us?" _She said to him as she extended her hand to him trying to grab him. "Don't," he began but was abruptly awakened by Enzo who was shaking him rather violently.

"Kid, hey kid! Dammit why is it that I get all the nut cases eh?" The Italian crossed his arms over his chest as he narrowed his eyes at the groggy teen. "You up or what?" Tony muttered something unintelligent as he rose up from his bed. Looking at the clock, he realized he had only slept for twenty minutes.

"What gives? Why'd you wake me?" He scratched his head, surprised that his hair was still damp. Glancing at the television he caught a glimpse of the adult channel, GIRLZ before Enzo snatched the remote from the night stand and turned off the television.

Enzo grunted at the boy and responded while bending over and retrieving a beer from the small white motel fridge that was placed next to the television. Sitting on the corner of the bed, he opened the beverage taking a long gulp from the malt drink. "You were calling out names and groaning loudly," he sipped loudly crunching the empty can moments later.

"I don't know what the hell you were dreaming but you kept saying 'Wydow where are you? And mommy I can't see you ' and some other random crap. I think something is wrong with you Tony, personally I suggest you go see a shrink or something you know, get a check up and make sure you're not gonna go crazy on me any time soon."

"You're the one who's out of your mind fat man," going to the fridge he grabbed a beer and drank it slowly. "What time is it?" He asked after a few moments of silence, his employer no longer paying him any heed. "What?"Enzo asked after a few moments of spacing out. "Time, what time is it slouch!" Tony screamed at him while throwing the empty can at him, causing the short man to duck.

Enzo shot him a dirty look and answered "It's past ten-thirty, why? You feel like going out and partying it up?" Tony shook his head. Walking over to where the coat was thrown he grabbed and swung it over his shoulder as kicked open his door.

"Hey don't break it we're gonna have to pay for it you imbecile" Ignoring the Italian's cries he went down the filthy hall and back out to the never-ending dark skies.

He walked down the streets, hands shoved down his pockets eyes glued to the ground. _"_So much fuss for one brat, gotta wonder why she has so much power over them. Maybe she screwed her way into this business . . . " he kept on mumbling, ignoring the curious onlookers who would walk right by him and give him a momentarily glance, only to keep on their way and shake their heads at the young boy who was talking to himself.

As he paced through the dimly lit streets, splashing through puddles of the latest rain storm he began to wonder about the name he had called out during his dream.

"Do I know anyone with that nickname? What kind of damn name is Wydow? Or is it Widow, like Black Widow ?" He thought about it for a second more before he finally dismissed it as a random dream.

"You now if you keep shaking your head and walking around like that you're really not going to get hired Tony. People won't trust you, they'll think you're just some poor nut." He stopped in his tracks and turned around, a dark haired stranger standing behind him, greeted him with a warm smile.

Arching an eyebrow Tony said "And just who the hell are you?"

The dark haired stranger cocked his head sideways and gave him an innocent smile, "you really can't recognize me?"

Shaking his head the silver haired teen kept walking, his new companion right besides him.

"Sorry can't say I do, unless you owe me money, I don't see why you're opinion would matter either way to me." The stranger, a teen himself chuckled lightly. "We were working together the other night, y'know Vi's partner?" Tony was quiet for a moment before he finally remembered who he was talking to. "Oh yeah, I know who you are," Tony turned and kept walking the brunette boy right behind him. "You're the guy in the mask right? Why are you talking to me in plain sight? Wasn't the point of you wearing a mask that we never find out who you are?"

"Nah, the mask was Enzo's idea. Said I needed to hide my identity in case things got out of control. So ... I can't believe that _you're_Tony Redgrave, Imma little surprised I have to admit. Hey my name is Frank by the way."

Tony couldn't help but stop in his tracks for a brief second and say "What do you mean by _you're_ Tony Redgrave? Something I should know about?"

Frank shook his head hoping the other boy had taken no offense.

"It's just well, before I came to Strafe, I stayed in a town called 'Sepulveda' and everyone there talked about someone named Tony Redgrave. They said he was one hell of a troublemaker and if I were to ever encounter the guy to stay away from him and his partner because odds, were that person was just as crazy as you. I didn't know what they were talking about so I decided to check the forums and see what I would find regarding you."

Tony cocked one eyebrow and as the voice in his head told him it was best to not open his mouth at all. "And what did you find you about me?" Frank chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "I gotta say, from what I read, I thought Tony Redgrave was some old, lunatic veteran of this kind of work. But hell, you have a reputation back in Sepulveda. They say mentioning your name before a job is bad luck. It's kinda like the whole acting thing and what's his name... oh Macbeth!" The silver haired teen simply laughed, acting as if he weren't aware of the ominous reputation he had made for himself back in his old town.

"So where are you headed?"

Tony turned to the other boy and gave him a blank stare. "To Vi's apartment. Gotta pay her a visit, Grue is in need of funds for Jessica's sweet sixteen."

The rest of the walk was silent, Frank trailing behind Tony catching up to him whenever the silver haired mercenary would walk too far ahead of him.

As they stood in front of Nell's shop, Tony turned to his companion and said in a low voice, "Don't say anything that'll piss off the old bat. We need her on our good side if we're gonna make this happen."

_And another chapter is finished! Once again thank you to Anber-kun, your support is probably what's kept me going right now, and inspired me to keep on this story no matter what!! I love your new work and keep it up I wanna read more of it soon!!_


	8. Nightmare

Chapter Eight- Nightmare

_It's gonna haunts us, it's always gonna haunts us._

Tony knocked three times before the familiar voice of the shop owner shouted, "Come on in already!" Opening it carefully the silver haired teen was the first to step through the doorway followed by the other boy. They were inspected by the old woman with a questionable glance as she sat in her corner, working away on some unknown project.

"What do you two want from me? If it's a gun, I want the money up front." She didn't look up again and instead reached deep inside the drawer besides her and fished out a worn out rag.

Tony chuckled, it seemed as if the boy was trying to find the best way to con the woman to help him with his cause. "Well actually, it's not a gun I'm here for but rather, well . . . " he trailed off scratching the back of his head as he tried to piece together a speech that would leave the lady in his divine attention.

"Why we're here is because Tony wants to borrow money from Violette."

Tony gave Frank an accusing glare, not surprised that the newcomer had sold him out so easily. The other boy simply shrugged and said "If I hadn't said anything, we'd still be standing in silence waiting for you to come up with something to say." Tony's face went black, realizing that Frank had a point.

"Money? For what do you want money for Tony? And what makes you think that you can ask Violette?" The shop owner sat up straight, crossing both arms over her chest waiting for an answer from the boy.

"Because," he answered his tone unusually serious "Grue is too much of a coward to admit that he needs help and I promised him that I was going to do all I could to get her to agree to help her mentor in his time of need."

Nell was surprised by his answer, she had expected something stupid and selfish to be his motive, but maybe she was overlooking the boy. She felt that she had misjudged the boy, most likely because of the big mouth he had which would always piss her off. "Hmm, well to start off Violette isn't here right now. She went to her old modeling agency. If you want to talk to her, come back tomorrow . Now you, the tag-along," Frank turned to her and muttered "My name's Frank, I've been through this with you at least four times Nell." The old woman looked at him as if he were a sort of insect, some hideous insect which she wasn't sure if she should kill or not.

"Right, right." she waved a hand at him as her gaze lowered back to the object that was before her, Tony assumed it was someone's gun. Either it was being restored or she dismantling the thing since scattered parts littered the top of her desk. "Anyway, you uh Frank. Since you're my daughter's partner I'll leave it to you to notify Enzo that Violette is going back to GUN for part-time work during their summer shoot."

Frank didn't say anything, he simply narrowed his eyes as if he had been offended. Stifling a laugh, Tony wrapped an arm around the boy and said "Well sorry to disturb ya Nell but we'll be on our way now."

Later that night. . .

Violette woke up inside an unknown room surrounded by white walls. Moonlight pierced through the thin curtains that hung above the two large windows next to her, a soft breeze pulling in, the smell of rain and grass strongly present_._

"_Where the hell am I?"_ The words softly came from her mouth as she sat up from the bed her bare feet touching the soft white carpet as she walked towards the closed door before her.

This all seems familiar. Maybe I've read about this place somewhere before. Creeping into the long hallway, it was decorated with paintings of what seemed like older times, most of the pictures contained a couple, a blond woman and a dark-haired man. Violette stopped before one of the paintings, examining the clothing the couple wore.

_Renaissance? Are these paintings from that era?_

The hallway stretched out to an almost impossible length, making the teen dizzy as she struggled to remain on her feet. It felt as if her stomach had dropped, much like one feels after riding a roller coaster.

"_What's going on? Why is everything spinning??"_

It took her a moment to realize that the hall was no longer spinning and instead the sensation was replaced by the sound of a woman crying.

Breaking into a sprint, she raced through the growing hallway never reaching the door as shadows began to consume the hallway, the moon's rays which had been illuminating the hall, fading away as they were replaced by something more sinister.

"_Wwyyyyyyyyyydoooooooooooooooooooow."_

It first came as a grunt, an animal-like growl emerging the increasing shadows. Stopping in her tracks she turned to see numerous eyes staring right back at her, all different colored, all glaring, all with cat-like pupils.

"_H-hello?"_Her voice trembled not sure whether she should be even trying to speak to the darkness or simply make a clean run for it.

"_Daughter of the traitor."_

"_Spawn of the ignoble ones"_

"_Child of shit, child of traitors" _

The whispers came almost like a tidal wave, loud and quickly they took over the quiet hall the whispers becoming almost screams forcing Violette to run, this time the door at the end of the hallway no longer out of reach.

As she neared the door the screams died out and the crying began again. It seemed as if everything stopped as her hand clasped around the doorknob, her heartbeat rang in her ears as cold sweat trickled down the nape of her neck and the sides of her face causing her dark locks to stick to her cheeks.

Turning the knob she pulled the door open, it creaked loudly as a bright yellow light washed over her and she was inside another room.

In front of her a tall blonde, the same one from the portrait cried, she wore a white gown torn and in pieces, her body was all scratched up and bloody.

"_Are you alright?"_ Violette took a step towards the weeping woman and the room darkened only a spotlight remained on the stranger.

"_You've come, finally. I've been waiting for so long for you . . . "_ the woman turned her outfit changing instantly.

No longer was she wearing a gown, instead she wore broken fragments of white armor, her long hair chopped in several areas, bloodstained. Her eyes were a deep crimson and two tear-like blood streaks decorated her face. Large beige colored horns had sprouted from her head curving, as she dropped on her knees in an attempt to reach Violette.

"_I've been waiting . . . "_ she began to drag herself towards the girl, the teen inching away from her as blood began streaming out of the woman spilling unto the floor and touching Violette's bare feet.

"_My child."_ The woman clasped Violette by the face talon-like nails digging into her flesh the armor scraping the girl's bare skin.

"_Now,"_ the woman went through another transformation, this time into a grotesque bloody creature. _"We can finally be together, Wydow." _

As the woman's body pressed against Violette's bright flames rose from all around them and consumed them both, Violette's flesh instantly turning black and charred.

The teen shot up from her bed screaming at the top of her lungs, plastered against the wall her screams rang out through the third floor.

Nell burst into the room only seconds later, grabbing her daughter and cradling her in her arms as the teen screeched and clawed at her mother shouting as loudly as she could.

"Violette!! Violette!!! It's me, it's me! Violette!!"

After what seemed like forever the girl was lull and asleep, only Nell was left awake shaking and covered in sweat after her daughter's latest battle.

The gunsmith sat in her desk, the apartment peaceful yet again, only her mind seemed troubled.

"She hadn't had nightmares for a while now. The doctors said she wouldn't get them anymore, that it was nothing more than a phase. What the hell could have set them off?" Her hand rested on top of her forehead as the phone rang next to her, she only let it ring once before answering.

"Yeah?" Her voice though scratchy sounded tired.

"Nell, you okay?" The voice on the other line said, Enzo gulping back a shot of vodka as her heard the trembling voice of the gunsmith who was on the verge of tears but so desperately tried to keep herself together.

"She had another attack."

Enzo became almost completely sober when he heard what the gunsmith said to him in a low growl, her teeth clenched as she bit her lip forcing herself to swallow any grief that was bubbling inside her.

"Are you sure, maybe you were just-" he was cut off by the older woman who nearly yelled at him, but stopped herself before it woke up her daughter.

"Another attack Enzo, she had another night terror!! I don't get _why_ she's getting them again, the psychiatrist gave her sedatives three months ago, they had been working just fine . . . " Her voice trailed off until nothing was heard but breathing.

Enzo scratching his balding head, taking a deep breath he said to her, "Well maybe this isn't something drugs can cure, hey listen, she'll get over it . Trust me. Frank told me earlier about Vi's meeting with the people from GUN and I think that's great. All we need to do is keep her busy, relaunch her modeling work, I already have several clients lined up who wanted exclusives with her. Interviews, photo shoots, the works. After that well I don't have to tell you that finding her a job in our line of work will be hard."

Nell's head began to pulsate violently, she simply closed her eyes, rubbing the temples of her head. "Well I suppose re-launching her model work wont be so bad, we just, we just have to be careful. We don't want there to be another incident like the last time she got out of hand."

Enzo nodded, even though he was aware that the person on the other side on of conversation couldn't see him.

"Enzo?" Nell said moments later quietly as she talked in her normal tone of voice.

The commissioner pressed the phone against his ear hoping to hear her a bit more clearer. "What is it Nell? Do you need anything? I can make a run to the all-night mart if you want."

The gunsmith sighed opening her eyes, staring at a picture frame that rested on her desk.

"Why did you call me this late? It's 4 a.m."

Enzo cleared his throat and then spoke. "Well, actually I'm not too sure myself. I came from the Cellar awhile ago and dragged Tony to the motel room and well, I'm outside the damn place I can't sleep, especially because Tony keeps crying in his sleep."

There was silence on both sides of the phone until the Italian said "Now that I think about it, Tony also gets those damn night attacks. The other night I woke up and found him over me wit that over-sized knife of his, muttering something about 'sending the demons back to hell'. Geez, whatever he and Vi went through in order to get these damn nightmares, God do I feel bad for them both. After all, they're nothing but kids when it comes to it."

Nell sympathized with Enzo but after a brief moment said "Well Enzo, I think it's time a bid goodnight. It's late and I need to get some rest. If you're going to go through with the whole modeling bit, you better get your ass over here no later than 10 a.m. Vi is usually up by 8 o'clock the latest."

Enzo felt a small sense of relief as he heard the gunsmith's usual harsh tone. "Yeah, I'll be there by 9 o'clock. Hey can you tell Vi that Tony's looking for her?" Nell sighed, lightly yawning as her eyes began to feel heavy yet again. "Sure, sure. Tony already came by askin' for her. So what does Grue need that he requires Tony to do this for him?" The commissioner stared up at the dark sky and answered "It's for Jessica's birthday. It's maybe a couple of weeks away and the man's stressing out because he can't afford a party for her like she deserves. He's too prideful in my opinion, he think's that Violette will think less of him is he asks her for money."

Nell scoffed and simply said "Men and your pride. It's going to be the destruction of you one day." Without adding a word more, she hung up the phone and retreated to her bed for some much needed rest.

A/N- And with that ends, chapter eight. The nightmare was actually kinda hard to do since I haven't role plaed in months but I just went out on a limb to write what I could picture in my head. Thanks to Amber, your still the sole inspiration to continue this story!!!!


	9. Kindness

**_Airezen Avi is not a character of mine, she belongs to Lily Hernandez _**

Chapter Nine - Kindness

_I'm not whom you think I am Tony. _

"And that's a wrap!" The photographer shouted to the models as he lowered his camera and wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead with a red handkerchief. Assistants and crew rushed to the two girls as one rose to her feet and the other stepped down from the small stone steps.

They had been shooting the cover to Violette's debut magazine and one of the first women to pose with the girl was Airezen Avi, a European teenage mercenary who was two years older Violette, and like her had just made her first big break in the mercenary industry. While Violette was trademarked with jet black hair and green cat-like eyes, Airezen was a brunette with heterochromia which made her stand out in the business and was sometimes even more of a gossip object than Violette. She had one eye blue and the other green, Airezen dressed in colors blue and black, no matter what she ever wore, those were her trademarked colors.

Airezen stretched her back as she rubbed one of calves Heterochromia standing in an almost awkward pose for just a second. Violette sighed in relief as she rubbed the make-up they had applied to her off with a rag, her costume designer frowning as she witnessed the unraveling of the girls. "Gee ladies if you're going to make me work this hard, the least you could do is destroy the image I worked so hard on when I'm gone! Don't do it while I'm still here!" Violette paused, looking at the make-up smeared cloth and lightly blushed "Sorry Lily, promise it wont happen again, right Aire?" Airezen glanced in her direction for a slight moment and quickly nodded, resuming her conversation with a reporter who had approached her for an interview.

Violette wore a black corsage with purple and white trimmings, a black skirt that had a long tail. She wore black opera gloves and her black chained amulet, her legs were covered with a leg length stocking and a mid-calf length one. She wore black pointy boots which were tied with thin strings. Her hair wasn't in it's usual style of pig tails but instead it was simply let down. In all she wore her regular colors but looked perhaps even more adult in the alternate costume than her usual halter top dress.

As Airezen walked off the set to go to her dressing room she walked by a short chubby man in his thirties whom was accompanied by a weird silver haired boy.

"Are you lost?" She asked them, only the silver haired boy turned to her and smiled "No , not at all we're just waiting for Vi, this is her manager Enzo Ferino and I'm Tony Redgrave , a friend of hers."

"You're NO friend of mine you sleazy scumball! Now get away from her before I call security on you!" Violette cried out from across the room, trying to sit still as Lily tried to properly remove the make-up the girl had smeared all over her face. "Don't move Vi or I might get this in your eyes," the woman warned as she tried to do her job, hearing the teen sigh afterwards.

Airezen simply chuckled thinking _Well the rumors are true then, Vi is as loud as she is pretty. _She then hurried off to her room, not saying another word to the boy.

"Look at what you did, you scared the fish away!" The boy yelled at Vi causing her to blush a deep red in anger. "Uh, Tony, don't forget you're here to ask her for money." Enzo muttered quietly making sure his client heard nothing. Tony gave him an angry glance and crossed his arms over his chest. They had been standing there for what seemed like hours especially since Tony had been forced to wake up at 5 a.m. to go with Enzo and Violette to her photo shoot in order to ask her for Grue's favor.

Violette sat still as Lily began to apply the next set of make-up her designer humming a light tune being careful not to smear the fresh paint on the model's face. "I gotta say Vi, the Goth look actually fits you." Lily lightly applied lipstick as a prop handler arrived on the set carrying a double edged sword which was almost the entire length of Violette's body. The sword was silver on the edges of the blade but black in the center. With a cross-shaped hilt that bore the same colors as the blade itself, it tip was hooked shaped, almost as if the sword had been made to grasp ad tear away at flesh with ease.

Lily stepped away as the prop handler approached the girl handing her the sword "Be careful Vi, it's actually a lot heavier than it looks." He warned as he stepped away from her. Smiling with confidence, the girl took the sword and lifted over her head, twirling it with ease as she turned sideways and posed while holding the sword on her shoulders. "This isn't heavy at all! What the hell is it made of?" She asked as she was handed a pistol to accompany the sword. The man stared, stupefied and muttered "Well actually it's near the forty to fifty-pound range, it's made out of titanium and spinel," he turned to Lily who simply shrugged. Violette smiled as she said "Where did you find this thing? It's a freakin' beauty! Hey can I keep it?" Her eager smile remained as they told her to remain still her dark locks blowing behind her to add a visual effect.

"She looks like a pro," Tony murmured to Enzo who nodded "Well she is one of the most sought after talents, right now her competition are Airezen, Mila Howard and Summer. These four women are the top line models and two of them are mercenaries which just adds to their sex appeal. Airezen brings in the money which her strange, yet alluring eyes. Violette attracts the crowds with that crazed glare she gives with those damn cat-eye contacts she wears, trust me nothing is hotter than a woman who's blood-smeared and giving you a seducing look." Tony laughed at his boss as if he'd said a joke "You're sick you know that right? Violette is only _sixteen_and that other girl, though hot she may be, looked no older than Vi! Seriously, is there something I'm missing out on? I mean if the merc business is nothing more than child pornography than I think I'd rather just stay out of it. That's too sick, even for you fat man."

Enzo remained silent his eyes back over to the set where they wrapped up the day's work.

After attending Violette's photo session, Tony was silent through the entire ride to Strafe which seemed odd to both his commissioner and Violette, who had tried to get him to talk by offering him food or anything else. He remained silent even after Enzo's offers of strawberry ice cream.

"Hey, what the hell is wrong with you?" Violette plopped down next to her adversary, trying to get his attention . "Hey you, heellllooooo. . . ." She waved an arm in front of him trying to get him to utter something in response. Tony stole a glance at her as she turned to Enzo and shrugged, muttering something to the Italian which he couldn't understand.

"Hey Vi," the boy finally spoke a frown upon his face his eyebrows squinted together in what seemed like a disapproving glare. Turning to him she was surprised by him expression and answered "Yeah? What is it?" Their eyes met for a moment as he said " I need your help." His tone was quiet and calm as he said "Grue needs to borrow money from you and he's too scared to approach you because he thinks you'll mock him because you were a former student of his." Enzo gulped not sure how the girl would react to Tony's comment.

"How much? How much does he need?" She looked him in the eyes her own glance was soft with concern, Tony could feel a shiver down his spine for some reason it felt like she was staring deep inside to a place where not even he knew what lay. The hairs on his arms were standing, but luckily for him he was wearing a long sleeved shirt which hid any sign of what effect she was having on him. "Well I'm not too sure about that. It's just well y'know we haven't had much work lately and well Jessica's birthday is coming soon and you know how much the man frets over his daughters."

He returned the look, her concern washing away as a simple smile emerged "It's already been taken care of. I had my assistant rent a place and all the arrangements for her sixteenth birthday have already been arranged. I've been working on making her a surprise party because I'm well aware of the fact that Grue is a busy man and I'm sure he can't afford the expenses right now." Relief washed over the boy for a moment before he hid it behind his usual self.

"Well now, that's good to hear. I wouldn't want the old guy crying over Jess' party or anything like that. I guess the old bat raised you to be a pretty thoughtful person then," He grinned from ear to ear as her smile quickly vanished and was replaced by a scowl. "You lousy piece of shi-" the car jerked to a stop causing the teens to bump heads. "We're here kids! Vi you're mom is waitin' for ya, as for you Tony you should head back to the motel." Enzo helped Violette out of the car carrying her purse for her as they entered the apartment complex.

_So she can be a caring person when it matters. I guess I was wrong to think she's just another spoiled brat. _Tony was about to walk off when someone rapped loudly on the window adjacent to him. "Hey buddy! Someone's gotta pay the cab fare, and I think that's gonna be you!" Tony's smirk faded as he reached into his jean pocket and fished out a twenty handing it to the driver.

"Damn it she conned me into paying for the fare!" Shoving his hands into his pockets, he walked off heading towards his place of resting."Goddamn, I think I spoke too soon."

"So how was work?" Nell's voice greeted the duo as they stepped through the small door Enzo the first to show his face, a grin on his face.

"It went exceptionally well! I'm telling you Nell you're girl was cut out for this line of work. Mila Howard, MILA herself wants to consider the merc business because your girl's popularity shot through the roof when the press heard about her first job a month ago! I'm telling you Nell, we're going to be rich, stinkin' no more work for the rest of our lives rich!! Vi's got so many job offers that she can pick and choose for an year and still make first rate pay!!"

The older woman gave a glance to her daughter, a slight frown forming. "So who did you work for today?" Violette grabbed her purse from Enzo and answered "Actually it was for my magazine. Airezen Avi came to the session and she's going to be front cover of the first issue. They already gave her the interview and she agreed to be featured as the first official guest if the mag. What about you mom? What have you done today?" Nell's hair came down covering her face as she looked down into one of the drawers of her working desk. "Well I've been thinking about designing you your own pair of guns. Something that no one else has, that is both unique and powerful."

Enzo remained silent as he heard the old woman explain her plans to her enthusiastic daughter and thought to himself_ Well it's good to know you haven't lost your spirit. Even after the incident with Rock and Gina. _Tipping his hat to both of them he exclaimed "Well ladies I'd love to stay and hear in on the grand event but I am a business man after all and my priority is to get Violette some more work in our field!"

Two months later. . .

"Happy Birthday dear Jessie, happy birthday to you!" The crowd cheered as Grue and his eldest daughter cut the round cake together, Jessica giggling merrily as her father poked and ate some of the cake frosting. Flashes of white light surrounded them as guests took pictures of the event, the young girl smiling proudly as she showed off her beige gown that she had picked out herself when Violette had taken her shopping just a week prior to the party.

The party had taken place in the only meeting hall the town had, and almost everyone who had attended was a mercenary. The men and their families were all acquaintances of both Grue and Violette and most were just getting to know Tony, even though he'd been a part of the town for at least six months. Nell and her daughter sat near a corner hidden away from the lights and the music that shook the building, they both quietly ate their food in peace, the guests keeping away from Nell, knowing full well the woman hardly ever left her shop and when she did, she liked being left alone. Frank sat adjacent to Violette, wearing a white tuxedo and a pink rose, his brown hair slicked back he was mere eye candy for some of the older girls since he wouldn't socialize with anyone.

"You should go and dance with someone Frank. We're on holiday, you know . . . a social gathering. Maybe you'll find yourself a pretty girlfriend." Violette said to him as they watched Jessica and some of the girls wave and giggle in their direction. Frank turned to her a sarcastic look on his face "Vi, I'm nineteen, and I'm at a sweet sixteen. What makes you think that I want to date jail bait?" She face flushed red as she blushed but was concealed by the darkness of the party. "I guess you do have a point there. Still I'm sixteen and I work with you . You should give it a shot, y'know try out at least for a one night stand or something. "

Frank shook his head, sweeping back a few loose locks of hair. "I think Tony will be doing enough flirting for both of us," he pointed over to the table where the silver haired teen was sitting grinning widely as girls flocked to his table to look at his sword or to touch his hair.

"He's getting his kicks out of being the center of attention for those girls." Frank pointed out as he muffled a short laugh, while Violette simply turned the other way. "Yeah but so what? Everyone's only giving him attention because of his butter knife and his freaky do. If he had normal hair and used a normal weapon like the rest of us, the girls wouldn't give him a passing glance." Frank smiled coyly as he leaned in closely and whispered "Is that **jealousy**I detect in you voice? Well now who would have thought that Violette Goldstein had a thing for losers like that guy."

Violette's face went red again as she barked "I do not have a crush on Tony Redgrave ! I was only pointing out the facts!!" She sharply turned away from him crossing her arms, "If I ever get involved with anyone, anyone, I'm going to make sure it's a real man. Not some brat who brags about how he can out drink Enzo Ferino." Frank pulled her by the shoulders and quietly said in her ear "Oh, I think you're crushing . And you're crushing **hard**." She shoved him away and ignored his teasing, directing her attention toward Grue and his daughters.

"He's really happy isn't he? They're all happy." Frank glanced at the family and nodded "Well what you did for them was a really generous thing. I'm sure his girl is going to remember this the rest of her life. She probably thinks your God now or something." The teen chuckled and answered "I can't be a god, I have a vagina!" her partner responded "Just because you're developed differently than myself doesn't mean you can't be something grand. Gender shouldn't classify what it is you're suppose to do. If Jessica thinks you're God then fuck it, let her think you are God! Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't be what you want to be just because you are a woman! That's bullshit."

Violette chuckled nervously, a few of the party guests turning to look at the commotion Frank's ranting had caused. "Calm down I was only joking Frank. Besides no one in this town has the guts to tell me what I can't and can do."

From her side a voice answered "I'll tell you what you can and can't do and you better not undermine my authority or else," Nell was giving her daughter a slight glare, Frank amused by all this only watched as Violette nodded and gave into her mother's show of dominance. "Of course momma I'd never think otherwise," the teen said nothing after that, afraid of being embarrassed in front of her partner. Frank only gave a her a smirk as she slumped in her seat.

When he was finally left alone by the girls, Tony eyed Violette from across the party wondering why she was blushing a deep red, from where he was sitting he would just see her suddenly turn red and then smack Frank on the shoulder as they both laughed at whatever either one of them had just said. He couldn't help but wonder just how close the two partners actually were. One moment they would be giddy and laughing, the next they would be silent simply smiling at one another. "Oh, well. It's not really my business anyway, gotta wonder what the old bat thinks about it though." He rose from his chair when a slim hand tapped his shoulder, from the corner of his eye he could see it was a girl.

Turning to his side he was face to face with Claire. Unlike himself who was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt, Claire was like the rest of the women and girls at the party wearing some kind of party dress, except hers was the color blue. Her blond hair was held up in a ponytail with a few loose locks adorning her face. Her brown eyes sparkled as she looked up at Tony and said "I didn't think I'd find you here at this party! How are you?" He took her right hand and bringing it to his face, kissed it gently answering "I'm doing pretty well, now that you're here." Claire gave Tony a flirty smile and took him by the hand guiding him back to his table. "Why don't you tell me all about how you've been? I haven't seen you in a couple of months, I'm sure there's something new for you to tell me about."

He gave Violette's table one last glance before saying "Sure why not? I have no one else to talk to here."

Sitting back down on his seat he offered Claire a chair which she gladly accepted. "So where have you been Tony? I haven't seen you in a couple of months. Last thing I ever heard about you was after we met, there were rumors circling that they wanted to kick you out of the mercenary business. There were rumors floating about that you abandoned a client in the middle of a job and let the guy get killed."

Tony grinned, his cocky smile emerging slowly as he crossed his arms behind his head.

"Really? Is that what they were saying about me? What else has been circling around town?" His eyes flashed interest, Claire luring him in with gossip. She tucked a few strands of hair behind an ear and said " Well some think that the only reason that you're working as a mercenary is because Grue pulled some strings to spare you from getting banned. That you've only survived this long in this town because he keeps sticking his head out for you." She stayed quiet for a few minutes while he scratched his chin with one hand as if he were in deep thought.

"I figured people talked about me when I first came to town, but now? It's been what almost six months? I think it's time they moved on to the newest piece of gossip. Whoever the poor sucker is." Tony's blue eyes locked on Claire who shifted nervously. He never stopped smiling as he said to her "You can tell them all, each and every one of the gossip circle that I'm here to stay. Doesn't matter to me what the hell you guys are talking about me, for all I care you could say I'm a fruit who takes it in the rear!!" He laughed at his own joke while the girl who sat across form him only studied his burst of laughter not sure what to make of it.

_A/N - And another chapter is done! I'm not sidetracking, it's just Jesse's party had been on my mind for some time now and I wanted to get it outta the way, and also I hadn't;t counted on the appearance of Airezen so I needed to rewrite and make adjustments. Thank you so much Amber-kun you've been very, very patient with me and of course chapter ten will mention you as a thank you for the fan art you did of Vi. Just tell me what to call you and if you'd like to be wearing anything special. I hope you enjoyed reading and as always, please R & R !!_


End file.
